Researchers from the University of Cologne's Department of Chemistry have developed threofuranosyl nucleic acid (TNA), a novel form of artificial nucleic acid with enhanced chemical functionalities. Published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, their study marks the first steps towards creating fully artificial nucleic acids.
TNA differs from DNA and RNA in structure, offering increased stability and functionality. By replacing the 5-carbon sugar deoxyribose with a 4-carbon sugar and expanding the number of nucleobases from four to six, the researchers created TNA. This modification prevents recognition by the cell's degradation enzymes, addressing a key challenge in nucleic acid-based therapeutics where RNA is rapidly degraded upon introduction into cells.
Moreover, the inclusion of an unnatural base pair in TNA offers alternative binding options to target molecules within cells. This feature holds promise for developing new aptamers, short DNA or RNA sequences for targeted cellular control, and could also facilitate targeted drug delivery and diagnostics.
The study demonstrates the potential of TNAs in various biomedical applications, including targeted drug delivery, diagnostics, and the recognition of viral proteins or biomarkers.
From: EurekAlert!
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