Progress in the design of DNA sequence-specific lexitropsins
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Updated: Aug 13, 2026

Detection of Bacteria Using Fluorogenic DNAzymes
Published on: May 28, 2012
W L Walker1, M L Kopka, D S Goodsell
1Department of Biomathematics, University of California at Los Angeles 90095, USA.
Abstract:
Sequence-specific polyamides that bind in the minor groove of DNA are attractive candidates for antibiotics, cancer chemotherapeutics, and transcriptional antagonists. This paper reviews the progress of structure-based design of minor-groove-binding polyamides, from the first structure of netropsin with DNA, to the effective linked polyamides currently under study. A theory of polyamide specificity is also reviewed, introducing methods to determine the optimal strategies for targeting a given DNA sequence within a genome of competing sequences.
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