This article reports the synthesis of a new class of conjugates containing a nucleobase, a peptidic epitope, and a saccharide and the evalution of their gelation, biostability, and cell compatibility. We demonstrate a facile synthetic process, based on solid-phase peptide synthesis of nucleopeptides, to connect a saccharide with the nucleopeptides for producing the target conjugates. All the co...

There has been special interest in the chemistry of quinolone and pyrimidine derivatives due to their diverse biological activities such as anticonvulsant, anti-malarial agents, antibacterial, antiviral, cytostatic, antithelemintic, antigenotoxic, anti-cancer agents. These compounds are also used as targeting delayed-type hypersensivity and anti-convulsant agents. As a part of our research work...

BACKGROUND African trypanosomes are capable of both pyrimidine biosynthesis and salvage of preformed pyrimidines from the host, but it is unknown whether either process is essential to the parasite. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Pyrimidine requirements for growth were investigated using strictly pyrimidine-free media, with or without single added pyrimidine sources. Growth rates of wild-type...

The coincidence of the Late Heavy Bombardment (LHB) period and the emergence of terrestrial life about 4 billion years ago suggest that extraterrestrial impacts could contribute to the synthesis of the building blocks of the first life-giving molecules. We simulated the high-energy synthesis of nucleobases from formamide during the impact of an extraterrestrial body. A high-power laser has been...

The peptide nucleic acid backbone Fmoc-AEG-OBn has been synthesized via a scalable and cost-effective route. Ethylenediamine is mono-Boc protected, then alkylated with benzyl bromoacetate. The Boc group is removed and replaced with an Fmoc group. The synthesis was performed starting with 50 g of Boc anhydride to give 31 g of product in 32% overall yield. The Fmoc-protected PNA backbone is a key...

Evidence that hairpin ribozymes function in the absence of bivalent cation cofactors suggests that active site nucleobases might participate directly in catalytic chemistry. We have adopted an abasic ribozyme rescue strategy to begin to dissect the roles of specific nucleobases in hairpin ribozyme activity. Loss of one active site nucleobase, G8, could be compensated by providing certain nucleo...