Photocontrol of DNA duplex formation by using azobenzene-bearing oligonucleotides.

Construction of photoresponsive RNA for photoswitching RNA hybridization.

By introducing azobenzenes into RNA using d-threoninol as a scaffold, a photoresponsive RNA was constructed for efficiently photoswitching the formation and dissociation of RNA/RNA duplexes. The difference in melting temperature (T(m)) between the trans and cis forms was so large that efficient photoregulation of RNA hybridization became possible, irrespective of the sequence adjacent to the in...

Optimizing the Photocontrol of bZIP Coiled Coils with Azobenzene Crosslinkers: Role of the Crosslinking Site.

DNA binding by bZIP-type coiled-coil proteins can be inhibited by dominant negative versions of the proteins in which the N-terminal basic region is replaced by an acidic extension. Photocontrol of bZIP function can be achieved by introducing intramolecular azobenzene-based crosslinkers into dominant negatives. We show that the largest degree of photocontrol is achieved when the crosslinker is ...

C5-azobenzene-functionalized locked nucleic acid uridine: isomerization properties, hybridization ability, and enzymatic stability.

Oligonucleotides (ONs) modified with a locked nucleic acid (LNA) are widely used in the fields of therapeutics, diagnosis, and nanotechnology. There have been significant efforts towards developing LNA analogues bearing modified bridges to improve their hybridization ability, nuclease resistance, and pharmacokinetic profiles. Moreover, nucleobase modifications of LNA are useful strategies for t...

Azobenzene photoisomerization-induced destabilization of B-DNA.

Molecular photoswitches provide a promising way for selective regulation of nanoscaled biological systems. It has been shown that conformational changes of azobenzene, one of the widely used photoswitches, can be used to reversibly control DNA duplex formation. Here, we investigate the conformational response of DNA upon azobenzene binding and isomerization, using a threoninol linker that has b...

Photocontrol of the adsorption behavior of phenol for an azobenzene-montmorillonite intercalation compound.