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Updated: Jul 14, 2026

Sequence-specific and Selective Recognition of Double-stranded RNAs over Single-stranded RNAs by Chemically Modified Peptide Nucleic Acids
Published on: September 21, 2017
Inducing the replacement of PNA in DNA.PNA duplexes by DNA
Tom N Grossmann1, Shunta Sasaki, Markus Ritzefeld
1Institut für Chemie, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Brook-Taylor-Str. 2, D-12489 Berlin, Germany.
Abstract:
The uncharged DNA-analogue peptide nucleic acid (PNA) can invade into dsDNA by displacing the non-complementary DNA strand. The formed strand displacement complexes can create a sterical hindrance to block access of enzymes such as nucleases and polymerases. Due to the high stability of DNA.PNA duplexes it is usually not possible to displace the PNA strand by ssDNA or ssRNA. We herein report that the polycationic, comb-type copolymer alphaPLL-g-Dex can induce such a replacement of PNA in DNA.PNA duplexes by ssDNA. The influence of the copolymer on strand exchange highly depends on the nature of the oligonucleotides. Acceleration has only been observed when both the starting duplex and the single-stranded exchanger strand were negatively charged. The presented approach should allow the withdrawal of PNA induced sterical hindrance of DNA by rehybridisation with ssDNA.
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