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Crosslinker-modified nucleic acid probes for improved target identification and biomarker detection
Joke Elskens1, Annemieke Madder1
1Department of Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, Ghent University Krijgslaan 281 Building S4 9000 Ghent Belgium Annemieke.Madder@ugent.be Joke.Elskens@ugent.be +32-9-264-49-98 +32-9-264-44-72.
RSC Chemical Biology
|August 30, 2021
Summary
Crosslinking nucleic acids covalently enhances hybridization assay efficiency and specificity. This mini-review explores crosslinker-modified probes for studying biomarkers and targets.
Area of Science:
- Molecular Biology
- Biochemistry
- Chemical Biology
Background:
- Nucleic acid interactions are crucial for biological processes and disease.
- Hybridization assays rely on complementary sequence recognition but suffer from low efficiency and specificity.
- Ephemeral nature of non-covalent interactions complicates analysis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review methodologies using crosslinker-modified nucleic acid probes.
- To highlight the advantages of covalent crosslinking in nucleic acid assays.
- To discuss the chemistry of crosslinking reactions for studying biomarkers.
Main Methods:
- Review of literature on crosslinker-modified nucleic acid probes.
- Analysis of methodologies for interstrand nucleic acid crosslinking.
- Elaboration on the chemistry of crosslinking agents.
Main Results:
- Covalent crosslinking significantly increases efficiency, specificity, and selectivity of hybridization assays.
- Crosslinker-modified probes enable robust study, detection, and identification of targets and biomarkers.
- Various crosslinking agents offer distinct chemical properties for tailored applications.
Conclusions:
- Covalent crosslinking of nucleic acids is a powerful strategy to overcome limitations of traditional hybridization assays.
- Crosslinker-modified probes represent a versatile tool for biomarker discovery and molecular diagnostics.
- Understanding the chemistry of crosslinking is key to optimizing assay performance.
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