Synthetic nucleic acids

Bioreceptors Antibodies Lectins Cell membrane receptors Nucleic acids Synthetic molecules... 

Biomacromolecules and biopolymers have also been put to use as templates for the synthesis of new materials, or models for the study of molecular mechanisms in nature. Exanq>Ies are nucleic acid synthetic alternatives (Eschenmoser 1999), P- and y-peptide synthetic analoguesofnatural a-peptides (Seebach 2001), and analogues ofpoly-(i )-3-hydroxybutanoic acid. The latter can be obtained from chemical synthesis (Seebach 2001) or the culture of engineered Pseudomonas strains (Kessler 2001). 

RNA replicase isolated from Qj8-infected E. coli cells catalyzes the formation of an RNA complementary to the viral RNA, in a reaction equivalent to that catalyzed by DNA-dependent RNA polymerases. New RNA strand synthesis proceeds in the 5 —>3 direction by a chemical mechanism identical to that used in all other nucleic acid synthetic reactions that require a template. RNA replicase requires RNA as its template and will not function with DNA. It lacks a separate proofreading endonuclease activity and has an error rate similar to that of RNA polymerase. Unlike the DNA and RNA polymerases, RNA replicases are specific for the RNA of their own virus the RNAs of the host cell are generally not replicated. This explains how RNA viruses are preferentially replicated in the host cell, which contains many other types of RNA. 

A substance that after injection into the body of a vertebrate induces a specific Ab synthesis, is called an Ag. Ags are principally macromolecules, for instance proteins, polysaccharides or nucleic acids. Synthetic polymers also belong to the antigens, i.e. they can be used as, or act as, Ags. Small molecules (haptens) such as pesticides have to be coupled to a macromolecular carrier to elicit an Ab response (see section 2.3). The ability of an Ab molecule to bind an Ag or a hapten specifically is controlled by structural and chemical interactions between the ligand and the Ab at the combining site. The Ag-Ab interaction is reversible and does not involve formation of covalent bonds. The binding is a result of a variety... 

The above-described tools and materials involved in recombinant DNA technology are employed not only for the fabrication of protein polymers, but also for the creation of novel nucleic acid materials and nucleic acid-synthetic polymer hybrid structures. 

Kasten, F. H., and F. Strasser. 1966. Nucleic acid synthetic patterns in synchronized mammalian cells. Nature (London), 211 135-140. 

The unique combination of organic chemistry and molecular biology which is nowadays applied in nucleic acid synthesis and analysis led to a great interest in nucleic acid bioorganic chemistry. We give a few examples of recent synthetic endeavours in this field. 

In this section we briefly consider the osmotic pressure of polymers which carry an electric charge in solution. These include synthetic polymers with ionizable functional groups such as -NH2 and -COOH, as well as biopolymers such as proteins and nucleic acids. In this discussion we shall restrict our consideration... 

Nobel-laureate Richard Feynman once said that the principles of physics do not preclude the possibility of maneuvering things atom by atom (260). Recent developments in the fields of physics, chemistry, and biology (briefly described in the previous sections) bear those words out. The invention and development of scanning probe microscopy has enabled the isolation and manipulation of individual atoms and molecules. Research in protein and nucleic acid stmcture have given rise to powerful tools in the estabUshment of rational synthetic protocols for the production of new medicinal dmgs, sensing elements, catalysts, and electronic materials. 

Biopolymers are the naturally occurring macromolecular materials that are the components of all living systems. There are three principal categories of biopolymers, each of which is the topic of a separate article in the Eniyclopedia proteins (qv) nucleic acids (qv) and polysaccharides (see Carbohydrates Microbial polysaccharides). Biopolymers are formed through condensation of monomeric units ie, the corresponding monomers are amino acids (qv), nucleotides, and monosaccharides, for proteins, nucleic acids, and polysaccharides, respectively. The term biopolymers is also used to describe synthetic polymers prepared from the same or similar monomer units as are the natural molecules. 

Montgomery et al. in Synthetic Procedures in Nucleic Acid Chemistry (Zorbach and Tipson eds) Wiley ... 

Peptide Nucleic Acids (PNAs) Are Synthetic Mimics ofDNA and RNA... 

Preorganization of DNA and improving nucleic acid recognition by synthetic oligonucleotides 97CRV1473. 

A variation on this overall synthetic approach allows the formation of related TSIL ureas by initial conversion of l-(3-aminopropyl)imida2ole into an isocyanate, followed by treatment with an amine and allcylating agent. This approach has been used to append both amino acids and nucleic acids onto the imidazolium cation skeleton [14]. 

The hindering potentials must be of importance in the question of the flexibility of long-chain molecules such as synthetic polymers and naturally occurring macromolecules such as proteins and nucleic acids. Again, direct information on barriers in these molecules will be difficult to obtain but inferences can presumably be drawn from experiments on simpler analogues. 

Synthetic Polyelectrolytes as Models of Nucleic Acids and Esterases... 

One of the simplest synthetic models of nucleic acid may be poly-9-vinyladenine,... 

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