Ligand Binding to DNA and RNA
A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Bioorganic Chemistry".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2021) | Viewed by 27399
Special Issue Editor
Interests: supramolecular chemistry; DNA; RNA; molecular recognition; spectroscopy; heterocyclic chemistry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
The scientific interest in DNA and RNA and their biological activity has not subside over 50 years. Due to their functions (replication, transcriptional and translational regulation, enzymatic reactions), DNA and, on a growing scale, RNA macromolecules are the molecular targets of many drugs that are used in cancer therapy. Small molecules that form non-covalent supramolecular complexes with DNA or RNA could influence biochemical processes in living cells. For example, small-molecule complexation could inhibit the replication of DNA and its transcription to RNA and inhibit DNA–protein interactions. Therefore, the biological activity of numerous small molecules often directly depends on their interactions with DNA or RNA, although small-molecule cytotoxicity is also linked to metabolic pathways and their transport through the cell membrane.
Nucleic acids can be recognized by a small molecule (ligand) through base readout (recognition of unique chemical signatures of DNA bases) and shape readout (when the ligand recognizes a sequence-dependent DNA shape).
Nucleic acid structures present a wide variety of shapes with varying major and minor groove widths that can be recognized by small molecules by means of non-specific (mainly electrostatic) binding on the nucleic acid exterior and specific groove binding and intercalation (insertion of planar aromatic molecules between base pairs). DNA–RNA hybrid and multistranded structures are formed as intermediate structures during many biologically important processes such as DNA replication and transcription, telomere replication, and replication of HIV. Also, since telomerase activity can be inhibited through the binding of ligands either to DNA–RNA hybrids or to G-quadruplex structures, it is essential to study ligands’ interactions with both targets.
The design and synthesis of small molecules that could selectively recognize and bind specific sequences and/or specific DNA/RNA structural patterns (for example, single-stranded structures, DNA–RNA hybrids, triple helices, G-quadruplexes) and signal their binding by specific response (for example, by an increase or decrease of a spectroscopic answer) is a great challenge for chemists.
Dr. Marijana Radić Stojković
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- DNA/RNA recognition
- small organic molecule
- non-covalent supramolecular complex
- G-quadruplex
- DNA–RNA hybrid
- triple helix
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