Modification of the heterocyclic moiety of oligonucleotides has led to the discovery of potent
antisense compounds. This review describes the physicochemical factors that are …

Despite structural differences between the right-handed conformations of A-RNA and B-
DNA, both nucleic acids adopt very similar, left-handed Z-conformations. In contrast to their …

Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is a small molecule with polar, aprotic and amphiphilic
properties. It serves as a solvent for many polar and nonpolar molecules and continues to be …

Diaminopurine (DAP) is an analogue of adenine which can be converted to nucleotides that
serve as substrates for incorporation into nucleic acids by polymerases in place of (d) AMP …

One of the most important achievements in our understanding of the biochemistry of DNA is
our awareness that the double helix has considerable conformational flexibility. The concept …

Interest in noncovalent interactions involving halogens, particularly halogen bonds (X-
bonds), has grown dramatically in the past decade, propelled by the use of X-bonding in …

The ability to predict macromolecular conformations from sequence and thermodynamic
principles has long been coveted but generally has not been achieved. We show that …

In the RNA World before the emergence of an RNA polymerase, nonenzymatic template
copying would have been essential for the transmission of genetic information. However, the …

Guanine tetrads are formed spontaneously by guanine rich sequences in the presence of
certain cations. Various quadruplex helical structures, stabilized by such tetrads, apparently …

The synthesis and properties of oxepane nucleic acids (ONAs) are described. ONAs are
sugar− phosphate oligomers in which the pentofuranose ring of DNA and RNA is replaced …