title: PNA and LNA throw light on DNA.
abstract: In some aspects, homogeneous (all-in-solution) nucleic acid hybridization assays are superior to the traditionally used heterogeneous (solution-to-surface) alternatives. Profluorescent probes, which reveal fluorescence enhancement or fluorescence polarization upon their binding to DNA and RNA targets, are a paradigm for the real-time sequence-specific homogeneous detection of nucleic acids. A variety of such DNA or RNA-derived probes of different constructs has already been developed with numerous applications. However, the recent additions to the field - locked nucleic acids (LNAs) and peptide nucleic acids (PNAs) - significantly increase the potential of profluorescent probes and provide a robust impulse for their new uses.
authors.affiliation: Center for Advanced Biotechnology, Boston University, 36 Cummington Street, Boston, MA 02215, USA. vvd@bu.edu
authors.forename: Vadim V
authors.initials: VV
authors.lastname: Demidov
mesh_terms: D020137:Base Pair Mismatch; D004247:DNA / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000737:chemistry*; D005821:Genetic Techniques; D008956:Models, Chemical; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization; D020135:Peptide Nucleic Acids / Q000235:genetics*; D011487:Protein Conformation
chemical_list: D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D020135:Peptide Nucleic Acids; D004247:DNA