Chemical Regulation of DNA i-Motifs for Nanobiotechnology and Therapeutics.

Chemical Regulation of DNA i-Motifs for Nanobiotechnology and Therapeutics.
Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2019 Jan 02;:
Authors: Dash J, Debnath M, Fatma K
Abstract
DNA sequences rich in cytosine have the propensity to fold into four-stranded intercalated DNA structures called i-motifs under acidic pH. A string of recent studies provided significant breakthroughs that demonstrate how chemists can manipulate these structures for nanobiotechnology and therapeutics. The first section of this minireview discusses the development of advanced functional nanostructures by synthetic conjugation of i-motifs with organic scaffolds and metal nanoparticles and their role in therapeutics. The second section highlights the therapeutic targeting of i-motifs with chemical scaffolds and their significance in biology. For this, first we shed light on the long lasting debate regarding the stability of i-motifs under physiological conditions. Next, we present a comparative analysis of recently reported small molecules for specifically targeting i-motifs over other abundant DNA structures and modulating their function in cellular system. These advancements provide new insights into i-motif targeted regulation of gene expression, telomere maintenance and therapeutic applications.
PMID: 30600876 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Source: Angewandte Chemie - January 2, 2019 Category: Chemistry Authors: Dash J, Debnath M, Fatma K Tags: Angew Chem Int Ed Engl Source Type: research