Novel G-quadruplex structures are constructed by acyclic (L)-threninol nucleic acid and their synthesis and biophysical properties are described. Pyrene excimer fluorescence and circular dichroism (CD) data revealed that four strands of aTNA are oriented in antiparallel direction.

In addition to the bifunctional adducts (cross-linkages), that furocoumarins on radiation at 365 nm form in DNA, monofunctional adducts also proved able to inhibit the nucleic acid synthesis in Ehrlich ascites tumor cells.

We compared two radiotracer methods for measuring total microbial nucleic acid synthesis and specific growth rate. Using a sample from an oligotrophic environment, we found that there was excellent agreement between the two methods.

John An: Utility of Two Distinct Macromolecular Carriers for Nucleic Acid Delivery (Under the direction of Moo J. Cho, PhD) The major crux of nucleic acid-based therapy is that nucleic acids are not naturally occurring outside the cell. The systems biology of humans has evolved to detect exogenous nucleic acids as a part of foreign pathogens with efficient mechanisms to destroy and eliminate th...

Nucleic acids are important bio-macromolecules in living systems. They are involved in important functions like gene expression and regulation. Nucleoside triphosphates serve as precursors for biochemical synthesis of modified nucleic acids and nucleotide coenzymes. The modification of nucleic acids, particularly at nucleobases, can expand the function and chemical properties of nucleic acid. H...

Enzyme induction in Escherichia coli is stimulated by certain 5-amino-2,4-bis(substitutedamino)pyrimidines (Kunkee, 1960a). Other 2,4diaminopyrimidines have been reported to be antagonists of folic acid (Hitchings et al., 1952; Doctor, 1956). Since there are indications that the stimulation of enzyme induction involves nucleic acid metabolism (Kunkee, 1960b) and since folic acid is involved in ...

Development of potent new anti-Shigella agents for rapid and specific detection and treatment is of great importance. Aptamers, nucleic acid oligomers capable of specific binding to a wide range of non-nucleic acid targets, may be of value for this purpose. In the present study, we used a Systematic Evolution of Ligands by Exponential enrichment (SELEX) process to select DNA aptamers that b...

Logarithmically growing HeLa cell monolayers were treated with a range of concentrations of puromycin aminonucleoside (AMS). The effects of AMS were studied by the following means: microscope examination of treated cells; enumeration of the cell number using an electronic particle counter; analyses for DNA, RNA, and protein content; incorporation of P(32) and H(3)-thymidine into nucleic acids; ...

The translation of nucleic acids into synthetic structures with expanded functional potential has been the subject of considerable research, with applications including small-molecule and polymer evolution, reaction discovery and sensing. Here, we review properties of nucleic-acid-templated synthesis in the context of requirements for prebiotic translation. This analysis highlights the chemical...

Deoxyribozymes are DNA molecules with catalytic activity. For historical and practical reasons, essentially all reported deoxyribozymes catalyze reactions of nucleic acid substrates, although this is probably not a fundamental limitation. In vitro selection strategies have been used to identify many deoxyribozymes that catalyze RNA cleavage, RNA and DNA ligation, and a variety of covalent modif...