title: Templated synthesis of peptide nucleic acids via sequence-selective base-filling reactions.
abstract: The templated synthesis of nucleic acids has previously been achieved through the backbone ligation of preformed nucleotide monomers or oligomers. In contrast, here we demonstrate templated nucleic acid synthesis using a base-filling approach in which individual bases are added to abasic sites of a peptide nucleic acid (PNA). Because nucleobase substrates in this approach are not self-reactive, a base-filling approach may reduce the formation of nontemplated reaction products. Using either reductive amination or amine acylation chemistries, we observed efficient and selective addition of each of the four nucleobases to an abasic site in the middle of the PNA strand. We also describe the addition of single nucleobases to the end of a PNA strand through base filling, as well as the tandem addition of two bases to the middle of the PNA strand. These findings represent an experimental foundation for nonenzymatic information transfer through base filling.
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, 12 Oxford Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Heemstra
authors.forename: David R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000215:Acylation; D000586:Amination; D000588:Amines / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry; D001483:Base Sequence; D015394:Molecular Structure; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D020135:Peptide Nucleic Acids / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D000588:Amines; D020135:Peptide Nucleic Acids