Substitution of natural nucleobases in PNA oligomers with ligands is a strategy for directing metal ion incorporation to specific locations within a PNA duplex. In this study, we have synthesized PNA oligomers that contain up to three adjacent bipyridine ligands and examined the interaction with Ni2+ and Cu2+ of these oligomers and of duplexes formed from them. Variable-temperature UV spectrosc...

Peptide Nucleic Acids (PNAs) are synthetic mimics of DNA in which the sugar-phosphate backbone has been replaced by a pseudopeptide skeleton. These molecules bind to complementary DNA and RNA sequences with high affinity and specificity, forming complexes with extraordinary chemical and biological stability. First described in 1991, PNAs have received great attention due to their several favora...

Four stereoisomers of oxy-peptide nucleic acids containing ether linkages in the main chain and conformationally-restricted pyrrolidine rings (pyrrolidine-based oxy-PNA = POPNA) were newly synthesized and investigated for binding to DNA. cis-l-POPNA with 9 adenine bases formed the most stable hybrid with dT(9). The POPNA showed high sequence specificity similar to that of the Nielsen-type PNA a...

We previously developed reporter-peptide nucleic acid (PNA)-peptides for sequence-specific radioimaging and fluorescence imaging of particular mRNAs in cells and tumors. However, a direct test for PNA-peptide hybridization with RNA in the cytoplasm would be desirable. Thiazole orange (TO) dye at the 5' end of a hybridization agent shows a strong increase in fluorescence quantum yield when stack...

Arginine-rich cell-penetrating peptides have found excellent utility in cell and in vivo models for enhancement of delivery of attached charge-neutral PNA or PMO oligonucleotides. We report the synthesis of dendrimeric peptides containing 2- or 4-branched arms each having one or more R-Ahx-R motifs and their disulfide conjugation to a PNA705 splice-redirecting oligonucleotide. Conjugates were a...

Peptide Nucleic Acids (PNAs) are synthetic mimics of DNA in which the sugar-phosphate backbone has been replaced by a pseudopeptide skeleton. These molecules bind to complementary DNA and RNA sequences with high affinity and specificity, forming complexes with extraordinary chemical and biological stability. First described in 1991, PNAs have received great attention due to their several favora...

Although several researchers had reported on methodologies for surface plasmon resonance (SPR) signal amplification based on the use of nanoparticles (NPs), the majority addressed the sandwich technique and low protein concentration. In this work, a different approach for SPR signal enhancement based on the use of gold NPs was evaluated. The method was used in the detection of two lectins, pean...

The emergence of drug-resistant variants has posed a significant setback against effective antiviral treatment for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections. The choice of a nonmutable region of the viral genome such as the conserved transactivation response element (TAR element) in the 5' long terminal repeat (LTR) may potentially be an effective target for drug development. We have earlie...