Polymers nucleic acids

This collection of papers was part of a unique symposium held during the 178th Meeting of the American Chemical Society. The symposium, Diffraction Methods for Structural Determination of Fibrous Polymers, had a pronounced international character, with scientists from 12 different countries. The speakers represented both the synthetic polymer and biopolymer fields, with contributions in each of the three classes of natural polymers nucleic acids, proteins, and polysaccharides. Most important, the symposium centered on methods and techniques for studying fibrous polymers, methods that are usually taken for granted despite their inadequacies. 

A short segment of the RNA polymer. Nucleic acids are assembled on a backbone made up of ribofuranoside units linked by phosphate esters. 

The in vivo incorporation into proteins of amino acids analogs bearing non-biological chemical reactivity within their side chain would allow a completely new chemistry of proteins. For instance, this would have applications in the design of new materials by combining proteins to synthetic polymers, nucleic acids or carbon hydrates. In the past it was shown that E. coli is extremely permissive for the incorporation of artificial amino acids (see ref. 1 for review). 

Polymers Nucleic acids Proteins Polysaccharides 10 -10 4-7 10 -10 Nucleotides a-Amino acids monosaccharides... 

Polymer-Nucleic Acid Therapeutics in Human Clinical Trials... 

Numerous polymer-nucleic acid composites have been investigated in animal studies. The polymer systems that are most used are variations of PEI, polylysine, dendrimers, and a few others. There are also systems that are from natural polymers such as chitosan and atelocollagen. Here, a single system is outlined to show how some of the issues illustrated above are translated from the level of transfections in cdls to the treatment of humans in the clinic (the following discussion is adapted from the presentation by Davis" ). 

Polyplexes are formed by mixing a poly(nucleic acid) salt (typically the sodium salt) and a cationic polymer. Electrostatic attraction and counterion release leads to a hydrophobic collapse of the polymer-nucleic acid complex into a nanoparticle called a polyplex. 

The genuine high polymer nucleic acids form a part of all living matter. 

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