Peptide nucleic acid-based forced

Methods to study the biosynthesis of RNA in living cells, their intracellular transport, subcellular localization, and degradation are of great interest for understanding cellular networks and their malfunction [1-3] during diseases. Here, we describe the live cell RNA imaging with peptide nucleic acid-based FIT forced intercalation probes that enabled a simultaneous localization of two viral messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) molecules. 

Kohler, O., Jarikote, D.V., and Seitz, O. (2005) Forced intercalation probes (FIT Probes) thiazole orange as a fluorescent base in peptide nucleic acids for homogeneous single-nucleotide-polymorphism detection. ChemBioChem, 6, 69-77. 

The OPLS (optimized potentials for liquid simulations) is a force field developed by Jorgensen and co-workers for simulations of pure liquids, solutions of small organic molecules, peptides, and proteins (see OPLS Force Fields). Recently, the OPLS parametrization has been also extended to simulate the nucleic acid bases solvation effects and has been... 

DNA. Since polylysine binds preferentially to AT-rich DNA, hydrogen bonding in addition to salt bridge formation is likely to occur. Complex formation between polylysine or polycytosine is also reversible and may lead to rod-like structures (Haynes et al., 1970). Small cationic peptides with an aromatic amino acid, e.g., the tripeptide Lys-Tep.Lys, first add to double-stranded DNA and then force the aromatic side chain to intercalate between two nucleic base pairs. Bending of the DNA is then observed (Gabbay et al., 1973). 

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