Sliding on DNA: From Peptides to Small Molecules

Construction of DNA Hemicatenanes from Two Small Circular DNA Molecules

DNA hemicatenanes, one of the simplest possible junctions between two double stranded DNA molecules, have frequently been mentioned in the literature for their possible function in DNA replication, recombination, repair, and organization in chromosomes. They have been little studied experimentally, however, due to the lack of an appropriate method for their preparation. Here we have designed a ...

Effects of Small Molecules on Cardiomyocyte DNA Synthesis and Proliferation

Molecular recognition of DNA by small molecules.

Chemists, like artists, are able to construct new threedimensional objects, molecules and materials that exist only in the mind of a person. I became interested in creating novel molecular shapes with properties different from those found in nature shortly after arriving at Caltech in 1973. One cannot design without the brushes and paint of the craft. Indeed, modern organic chemists, standing o...

Peptides and small molecules of the plant-pathogen apoplastic arena

Plants reside within an environment rich in potential pathogens. Survival in the presence of such threats requires both effective perception of, and appropriate responses to, pathogenic attack. While plants lack an adaptive immune system, they have a highly developed and responsive innate immune system able to detect and inhibit the growth of the vast majority of potential pathogens. Many of th...

Allosteric modulation of DNA by small molecules.

Many human diseases are caused by dysregulated gene expression. The oversupply of transcription factors may be required for the growth and metastatic behavior of human cancers. Cell permeable small molecules that can be programmed to disrupt transcription factor-DNA interfaces could silence aberrant gene expression pathways. Pyrrole-imidazole polyamides are DNA minor-groove binding molecules th...