Main description:

This volume contains 29 engrossing chapters contributed by worldwide, leading research groups in the field of chemical biology. Topics include pre-biology; the establishment of the genetic code; isomerization of RNA; damage of nucleobases in RNA; the dynamic structure of nucleic acids and their analogs in DNA replication, extra- and intra-cellular transport; molecular crowding by the use of ionic liquids; new technologies enabling the modification of gene expression via editing of therapeutic genes; the use of riboswitches; the modification of mRNA cap regions; new approaches to detect appropriately modified RNAs with EPR spectroscopy and the use of parallel and high-throughput techniques for the analysis of the structure and new functions of nucleic acids. This volume discusses how chemistry can add new frontiers to the field of nucleic acids in molecular medicine, biotechnology and nanotechnology and is not only an invaluable source of information to chemists, biochemists and life scientists but will also stimulate future research.

Contents:

RNA as Major Components in Chemical Evolvable Systems - Peter Strazewski

How the Early Genetic Code Was Established? -Inference from the Analysis of Extant Animal Mitochondrial Decoding Systems - Kimitsuna Watanabe and Shin-ichi Yokobori

Isomerization of RNA Phosphodiester Linkages - Harri Loennberg

Effects of Ionic Liquid and Liposomes on the Structure, Stability, and Function of Nucleic Acids - Naoki Sugimoto

Oxidative Damage on RNA Nucleobases - Pascal A. Kupfer and Christian J. Leumann

Use of FRET to Study Dynamics of DNA Replication - Philip Nevin and Penny J. Beuning

Design, Characterization, and Application of Imidazopyridopyrimidine:Naphthyridine Base-Pairing Motifs Consisting of Four Hydrogen Bonds - Noriaki Minakawa and Akira Matsuda

Creation of Unnatural Base Pair Systems Toward New DNA/RNA Biotechnologies - Michiko Kimoto and Ichiro Hirao

Flexible Nucleobase Analogues. Novel Tools for Exploring the Nucleic Acids - Sarah C. Zimmermann and Katherine L. Seley-Radtke

Sequence Selective Recognition of Double-Stranded RNA - Eriks Rozners

Determining Transient Nucleic Acid Structures by NMR - Jeetender Chugh

Diastereomer-Specific Repertoire of 7'R- or 7'S-Me-Carba-Locked Nucleic Acids (cLNAs) in Antisense Oligo/RNA Duplexes and Engineering of Physicochemical and Enzymological Properties -

Qing Li, Oleksandr Plashkevych, Ram Shankar Upadhayaya, Sachin Gangadhar Deshpande, Andras Foeldesi, and Jyoti Chattopadhyaya

Challenges and Opportunities for Oligonucleotide-Based Therapeutics by Antisense and RNA Interference Mechanisms - Ramon Eritja, Montserrat Terrazas, Santiago Grijalvo, Anna Avino, Adele Alagia, Sonia Perez-Rentero, and Juan Carlos Morales

Progress in Chemically Modified Nucleic Acid Aptamers - Masayasu Kuwahara

Aptamers as Molecular Smugglers - Eileen Magbanua and Ulrich Hahn

Biochemical Aspects of Subcellular RNA Transport and Localization - Diana Bauermeister, Maike Claussen, and Tomas Pieler

Small Size, Big Impact: Bacterial Functional Nucleic Acids and Their Applications - Wendy W.K. Mok, Simon A. McManus, and Yingfu Li

Towards Defined DNA and RNA Delivery Vehicles Using Nucleic Acid Nanotechnology - Anders Hauge Okholm, David Schaffert, and Jorgen Kjems

Targeted Editing of Therapeutic Genes using DNA-Based Transcriptional Activators: Scope and Challenges - Ganesh N. Pandian and Hiroshi Sugiyama

Interaction of DNA Intramolecular Structures with Their Complementary Strands: A Thermodynamic Approach for the Control of Gene Expression - Irine Khutsishvili, Sarah E. Johnson, Calliste Reiling, Istok Prislan, Hui-Ting Lee, and Luis A. Marky

Site Directed Spin Labelling of RNA for Distance Measurements by EPR - Joachim W. Engels, Christian Grunewald, and Lena Wicke

Chemo-Enzymatic Strategies to Modify RNA in vitro or in Living Cells - Daniela Schulz and Andrea Rentmeister

Metal Dependence of Ligand Binding and Heavy-Atom Derivatization of Evolutionarily Distinct PreQ1 Riboswitches - Joseph E. Wedekind, Joseph A. Liberman, Jermaine L. Jenkins, and Mohammad Salim

DNA G-Quadruplexes and I-Motifs in Therapeutics and Diagnostics - Yogini P. Bhavsar-Jog, Samantha M. Reilly, and Randy M. Wadkins

Peptides Targeting G-Quadruplex Structures - Kenji Usui and Arisa Okada

Synthesis of Site-Specifically Modified Long-Mer RNAs - Darko Balke, Jennifer Frommer, Nico Rublack, Danilo Springstubbe, Bettina Appel, and Sabine Muller

Synthesis and Exon-Skipping Activity of Chemically-Modified RNAs - Yoshiaki Masaki, Takeshi Yamada, Hisao Saneyoshi, Akihiro Ohkubo, Kohji Seio, and Mitsuo Sekine

mRNA and snRNA Cap Analogs: Synthesis and Applications - Janusz Stepinski and Edward Darzynkiewicz

Innovative Chemistry for Synthesis of Regular RNA, 5'-Triphosphate RNA or 5'-Capped RNA - Yann Thillier, Francois Morvan, Jean-Jacques Vasseur and Francoise Debart.