The detection and analysis of nucleic acids extracted from microbial communities are the ultimate ways to determine the diversity and functional capability of microbial communities in the environments. However, it remains a challenge to use molecular techniques for unequivocal determination and quantification of microbial species composition and functional activities. Considerable ...

Excessive removal of structural material from skin during leather processing results in unattractive crease formation in leather. It is difficult to detect this in pelts at an early processing stage as it only becomes really apparent once the skin is made into leather. There would be great advantages in detecting ...

A systematic study of the CH/pi interactions of methane with the purine and pyrimidine bases of nucleic acids and with the lateral chains of the four natural aromatic amino acids has been carried out for the first time. The MPWB1K/6-31+G(d,p) method has shown to be adequate for the study of ...

Molecular imprinted polymers (MIPs) binding with phenoxyacetic acid (PA) as a dummy template molecule were synthesized via thermal initiation in aqueous medium. The retention behaviors of benzoic acid (BA), PA, 2-methyl-4-chlorophenoxyacetic acid (MCPA), 4-chlorophenoxyacetic acid (4-CPA), and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) on this MIP column indicate that this material can selectively ...

We have not yet reached a generally accepted view on how the genetic code might have originated. What has been proposed so far? The main part of the contribution to the panel discussion was devoted to recall to the audience the chronological order of publications the main aim of which ...

Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) studies are reported for combinations of cis-6-octadecenoic acid (also termed petroselinic acid, PSA) and octadecanoic acid (also termed stearic acid, SA) across a wide range of binary mole ratio combinations. The data are then used to plot the phase diagram ...

The crystal structure of the title compound, C(12)H(12)O(6)P(2), displays two different regions alternating along the a axis: a hydrogen-bonded region encompassing the end-positioned phosphonic acid groups and a hydrophobic region formed by the aromatic spacers. The asymmetric unit contains only half of the biphenyl-4,4'-diphosphonic acid (4,4'-bpdp) molecule, which is symmetric ...

Aptamers are artificial nucleic acid ligands, specifically generated against certain targets, such as amino acids, drugs, proteins or other molecules. In nature they exist as a nucleic acid based genetic regulatory element called a riboswitch. For generation of artificial ligands, they are isolated from combinatorial libraries of synthetic nucleic acid ...

A novel method is proposed in this paper, that is the silver nanoparticle (nanoAg)-cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTMAB) is used as the probe of resonance light scattering (RLS) for the determination of nucleic acids. Under optimum conditions, there are linear relationships between the quenching extent of RLS and the concentration of nucleic ...

Nucleic acid (aptasensors) have found steadily increased utility and application over the past decade. In particular, aptamers have been touted as a valuable complement to and, in some cases, replacement for antibodies owing to their structural and functional robustness as well as their ease in generation and synthesis. They are ...

The development of more selective chemotherapeutic agents for benign treatments of malicious diseases is highly desirable. In recent years model systems for the release of small molecule drugs from nucleic acid conjugates by templated chemical or photochemical reactions have been designed. Common for these systems is that the stoichiometric or ...

Nucleic acids are polyanionic molecules that were historically considered to be solely surrounded by a shell of water molecules and a neutralizing cloud of monovalent and divalent cations. In this respect, recent experimental and theoretical reports demonstrate that water molecules within complex nucleic acid structures can display very long residency ...

Three derivatives of the hydrophobic, channel-forming peptaibiotic alamethicin (F50/5) have been synthesized, the original Aib residue at position 1, 8, or 16 being replaced with the spin-labeled amino acid TOAC (=2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidin-1-oxyl-4-amino-4-carboxylic acid). Electron-paramagnetic-resonance (EPR) spectroscopy was used to characterize the rotational diffusion of these compounds in five isotropic solvents of ...

The interaction of Acid chrome blue K (ACBK) with nucleic acids in weak basic medium was studied in the presence of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTMAB) based on the measurements of resonance light scattering (RLS), UV-vis, NMR spectra, etc. In hexamethylene tetramine (HMTA) buffer (pH 7.45), ACBK and nucleic acids react with ...

Ocular gene therapy may offer new hope for severe eye diseases. Many of these ocular diseases are due to a gene defect in the retina, a multi-layered sensory tissue that lines the back of the eye. However, it is well known that the blood-retina barrier and sclera prevent hydrophilic and ...

Detection of nucleic acid hybridization via fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) using pyren-1-ylmethyl and perylen-3-ylmethyl N2'-functionalized 2'-amino-LNA nucleosides incorporated into oligonucleotides exhibited a clear distance dependence of the FRET efficiency, ranging from below 10% when the fluorophores were approximately 40A apart to approximately 90% when the fluorophores were in close ...

Several studies have shown that the staining by fluorochromes (DAPI, SYBR Green II, and TOTO-1) of bacteria is altered by chlorination. To evaluate the effect of chlorine (bleach solution) on propidium iodide (PI) staining, we studied Escherichia coli in suspension and biomolecules in solution (DNA, RNA, BSA, palmitic acid, and ...

In recent experiments, the excited-state lifetimes of protonated aromatic amino acids (TrpH+ and TyrH+) have been recorded by means of pump-probe photodissociation technique. The lifetime of TyrH+ is much longer than that of TrpH+, which has been initially rationalized on the basis of a simple phenomenological model. Besides, specific photofragments ...

The use of non-viral gene carriers to deliver small nucleic acids like antisense oligonucleotides (ODNs) and small interfering RNA (siRNA) remains an attractive but challenging goal in antisense therapy. Indeed, different barriers need to be overcome in the delivery process before a therapeutic effect can be obtained. One promising technique ...

The origin of nucleic acid template replication is a major unsolved problem in science. A novel stochastic model of nucleic acid chemistry was developed to allow rapid prototyping of chemical experiments designed to discover sufficient conditions for template replication. Experiments using the model brought to attention a robust property of ...

The efficiency of nucleic acid-based drugs is usually hampered by the fact that, following their uptake by the cell, these drugs end up in acidic organelles (i.e., endosomes/lysosomes) from which they barely escape. This work relates to the preparation and characterization of polyion complex micelles (PICM) formed by the self-assembly ...

Spectacular advances in structural and molecular biology have added support to the 'RNA world' hypothesis, and provide a mandate for chemistry to explain how RNA might have been generated prebiotically on the early earth. Difficulties in achieving a prebiotically plausible synthesis of RNA, however, have led many to ponder the ...

Aminopropyl nucleic acids (APNAs) are constitutionally simple nucleic acid alternatives with one stereogenic center per nucleotide, and with the potential to hybridize with RNA and to exert catalytic functions. We have developed a protecting group strategy to synthesize APNAs, although in a not very efficient way. Isolation and purification of ...

At present, there are no intravenously administered nucleic acid-based therapeutics that have been approved for human use. This reflects the difficulties in applying nucleic acid-based drugs: they are nuclease sensitive and have difficulties in reaching their site of action. Important challenges for intravenously administered nucleic acid formulations are the requirements ...

In this article, we present the design principles and application of a motif composed of a stem-loop probe (SP) hybridized to a fluorescently labeled universal reporter (UR) for sensing unlabeled nucleic acids. At room temperature, SP-UR is in the hairpin-closed form in which the fluorophore of UR is in proximity ...

A method is proposed that has the potential to lessen detrimental damages caused by reactive oxygen species (ROS) to proteins, nucleic acids, lipids, and other components in living cells. Typically, ROS oxidize substrates by a mechanism involving hydrogen abstraction in a rate-limiting step. The sites within these (bio)molecules susceptible to ...

Conventional development of latent fingerprints is compromised when the prints are decomposed by extreme temperatures, such as those encountered when a weapon cartridge is fired, an improvised explosive device is detonated, and/or in arson cases. Understanding how these extreme temperatures alter the chemical and physical properties of latent fingerprint residue ...

Lipid-based colloidal particles have been extensively studied as systemic gene delivery carriers. The topic that we would like to emphasize is the formulation/assembly of lipid-based nanoparticles (NP) with diameter under 100 nm for delivering nucleic acid in vivo. NP are different from cationic lipid-nucleic acid complexes (lipoplexes) and are vesicles ...

Nucleic acid-based therapeutics have the potential to provide potent and highly specific treatments for a variety of human ailments. However, systemic delivery continues to be a significant hurdle to success. Multifunctional nanoparticles are being investigated as systemic, nonviral delivery systems, and here, we describe the physicochemical and biological characterization of ...

The present study uses density functional theory to carefully consider the effects of the environment on the enhancement in (natural and damaged) DNA nucleobase acidities because of multiple hydrogen-bonding interactions. Although interactions with one small molecule can increase the acidity of the nucleobases by up to 60 kJ mol-1 in ...

Throughout Central and South Kalimantan, Indonesia, strongly acidic soil (pH 2.1-3.7) is widely distributed, and the local acidic soil-tolerant plants, including local rice varieties, often possess sphingomonads in their rhizosphere and rhizoplane. To investigate the behavior of sphingomonads inhabiting the rhizosphere of such acid-tolerant plants, we designed 13 different DNA ...

Nucleic acids bearing glycans of various structures have been under vigorous investigation in the past decade. The carbohydrate moieties of such complexes can serve as recognition sites for carbohydrate-binding proteins-lectins-and initiate receptor-mediated endocytosis. Therefore, carbohydrates can enhance cell targeting and internalization of nucleic acids that are associated with them and ...

Some novel fluorophores, viz. 6-(6-isobutyrylamino-1,3-dioxo-1H,3H-benzo[de]isoquinolin-2-yl)-hexanoic acid (1), 6-(6-dimethylamino-1,3-dioxo-1H, 3H-benzo[de]isoquinolin-2-yl)-hexanoic acid (2), 6-(6-benzoylamino-1, 3-dioxo-1H, 3H-benzo[de]isoquinolin-2-yl)-hexanoic acid (3), 6-(6-amino-1-oxo-1H, 3H-benzo[de]isoquinolin-2-yl)-hexanoic acid (4) and 6-(6-amino-1H,3H-benzo[de] isoquinolin-2-yl)-hexanoic acid (5) have been designed, synthesized and characterized. Their comparative fluorescence has been studied in different organic solvents and aqueous solutions containing inorganic ions. Out of these, ...

This paper reports the findings of an investigation of the reactivity and assembly of gold nanoparticles mediated by homocysteine (Hcys), a thiol-containing amino acid found in plasma. The aim is to gain insight into the interparticle interaction and reactivity, which has potential application for the detection of thiol-containing amino acids. ...

We report a study of acid-terminated self-assembled monolayers of alkanethiols of different length, 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid (11-MUA) and 16-mercaptohexadecanoic acid (16-MHDA), on Au(111). Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and contact angle techniques were used for characterization, and the results were compared ...

Systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX) is a procedure by which a mixture of nucleic acids that vary in sequence can be separated into pure components with the goal of isolating those with specific biochemical activities. The basic idea is to combine the mixture with a specific target ...

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is classifying quality control material for cystic fibrosis nucleic acid assays into class II (special controls). The special control that will apply to the device is the guidance document entitled "Class II Special Controls Guidance Document: Quality Control Material for Cystic Fibrosis Nucleic Acid ...

In earlier studies, we found that a conjugate of neamine-polyamide nucleic acid targeting transactivation response element of HIV-1 RNA genome (HIV-1 TAR) displayed anti-HIV-1 activity and sequence-specific cleavage of the target RNA in vitro. Here we show that both the position of conjugation of polyamide nucleic acid (PNA) on neamine ...

We have investigated the effects of different locked nucleic acid modified antisense mRNA antagonists against Survivin in a prostate cancer model. These mRNA antagonists were found to be potent inhibitors of Survivin expression at low nanomolar concentrations. Additionally there was a pronounced synergistic effect when combining the mRNA antagonists against ...

BACKGROUND: The vast majority of studies aimed at detecting human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA in skin cancer have used sensitive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods but the PCR technique, despite its high sensitivity, is not suitable to ascertain whether (i) the presence of HPV can be related only to few cells ...

The Real Time-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) is a methodology that is widely used to amplify and quantify specific sections of nucleic acid strands. A key aspect of RT-PCR is to determine the reaction cycle that produces a positive PCR signal. This cycle is proportional to the relative concentration of nucleic ...

Efficient and rapid isolation of nucleic acids is of significant importance in the field of genomics for a variety of applications. Current techniques for the isolation of specific nucleic acids or genes typically involve multiple rounds of amplification of the target sequence using polymerase chain reaction. Described here is a ...

Here we describe a method for sensitive and specific histological detection of microRNAs (miRNAs) by in situ hybridization. The protocol focuses on the use of locked nucleic acids (LNAs), which are bi-cyclic RNA analogs that allow a significant increase in the hybridization temperature and thereby an enhanced stringency for short ...

A series of experiments were performed in an attempt to extract genomic DNA from a small number of Eimerian oocysts. Sonication, ammonia, ethanol and lysozyme were all found to be unsuitable for the digestion of Eimeria oocysts. The chemicals and enzyme given were not capable of either disruption or digestion ...

A new method of surface modification for titanium (alloys) with bioactive molecules was developed with the intention of providing a new basis of implant adaptation for particular requirements of certain medical indications. Nucleic acid single strands are fixed electrochemically via their termini (regiospecifically) by growing an oxide layer on Ti6Al7Nb ...

The gel electrophoresis mobility shift assay (EMSA) is used to detect protein complexes with nucleic acids. It is the core technology underlying a wide range of qualitative and quantitative analyses for the characterization of interacting systems. In the classical assay, solutions of protein and nucleic acid are combined and the ...

Peptide nucleic acid (PNA) is an oligonucleotide mimic originally designed upon a repeating N-(2-aminoethyl)glycine polyamide backbone to which nucleobase heterocycles are attached through a methylene carbonyl linkage to the alpha-amino group. These molecules possess remarkable hybridization properties with DNA or RNA forming complexes with high stability and with excellent sequence ...

A simple, rapid, and regioselective approach for the synthesis of N-(methoxy-carbonylmethyl)- and N-(n-propoxycarbonylmethyl) nucleobases was developed. By using DMF as the solvent and in the presence of K2CO3 as the base, all the desired products were obtained in moderate yields within 8 min under microwave irradiation.

We have developed 2'-O-methyloligoribonucleotide and peptide nucleic acid (PNA) based artificial ribonucleases (OBAN's), which in presence of zinc or copper ions cleave a potential therapy target in leukemia, an M-BCR/ABL mRNA model. The OBAN's give turnover of substrate and are thus real enzymes. A copper ion based system even gives ...

A protocol is described for the incorporation of nitroxide spin-labels into specific 2'-sites within nucleic acids. This labeling strategy facilitates the investigation of nucleic acid structure and dynamics using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy and macromolecular complex formation using paramagnetic relaxation enhancement NMR spectroscopy. A spin-labeling reagent, 4-isocyanato TEMPO, which ...