Abstract
Synthetic analogues and mimics of the natural genetic material deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) are potential gene therapeutic (antisense or antigene) drugs. One of these mimics, peptide nucleic acids (PNAs), are chemically closer to peptides and proteins than to DNA, but nonetheless have retained many of the structural properties of DNA. These molecules have found applications as probes in genetic diagnostics and are also being developed into antisense (RNA (ribonucleic acid) interference) gene therapeutic drugs, targeting selected genes through sequence-specific recognition of (messenger or micro)RNA and in the future also antigene applications targeting the double-stranded DNA of the genes themselves leading to gene silencing or guiding specific gene repair. Finally, the special chemical and structural properties of PNA suggest that these or similar molecules might have played a role in the prebiotic origin of life (on Earth) and also could be interesting components of possible artificial life.
| Original language | English |
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| Journal | Encyclopedia of Life Sciences |
| Publication status | Published - 2010 |