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Updated: Nov 19, 2025
08:09
Mapping the Binding Site of an Aptamer on ATP Using MicroScale Thermophoresis
Published on: January 7, 2017
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Nucleoapzymes: catalyst-aptamer conjugates as enzyme-mimicking structures.
1Institute of Chemistry, The Minerva Center for Biohybrid Complex Systems, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel.
Emerging Topics in Life Sciences
|February 1, 2021
Summary
Nucleic acid aptamers conjugated with catalytic sites form nucleoapzymes, artificial enzymes with tunable catalytic activity. These novel catalysts show promise for selective chemical transformations and biomimetic applications.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Synthetic Biology
- Catalysis
Background:
- Nucleic acid aptamers can bind specific ligands and be functionalized with catalytic units.
- Catalyst-aptamer conjugates, termed nucleoapzymes, mimic enzyme activity.
- Structural variations in nucleoapzymes influence their catalytic performance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce and characterize nucleoapzymes as novel catalytic systems.
- To demonstrate structure-controlled catalytic activity and selectivity.
- To explore the potential of hybrid nucleoapzymes with non-biomolecular catalysts.
Main Methods:
- Assembly of hemin/G-quadruplex DNAzyme (hGQ) conjugated to dopamine aptamer.
- Conjugation of Fe(III)-terpyridine and Zn(II)-pyridyl-salen complexes to aptamers.
- Catalytic oxidation of dopamine and hydrolysis of ATP.
- Chiroselective oxidation of DOPA isomers.
- Molecular dynamic simulations for structure-function analysis.
Main Results:
- Nucleoapzymes catalyzed dopamine oxidation to aminochrome.
- Demonstrated chiroselective oxidation of L-DOPA and D-DOPA.
- Hybrid nucleoapzymes showed catalytic activity for dopamine oxidation and ATP hydrolysis.
- Catalytic activity was modulated by nucleoapzyme structure.
- Molecular dynamics simulations provided insights into structure-catalytic function relationships.
Conclusions:
- Nucleoapzymes represent a versatile platform for creating artificial enzymes with tunable catalytic properties.
- The structural diversity of nucleoapzymes allows for precise control over catalytic activity and selectivity.
- This work opens new avenues for designing sophisticated catalytic systems for various applications.
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