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Solid-phase synthesis of pseudo-complementary peptide nucleic acids

Nature Protocols volume 3, pages 646–654 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

Pseudo-complementary peptide nucleic acid (pcPNA) is a DNA analog in which modified DNA bases 2,6-diaminopurine (D) and 2-thiouracil (Us) 'decorate' a poly[N-(2-aminoethyl)glycine] backbone, together with guanine (G) and cytosine (C). One of the most significant characteristics of pcPNA is its ability to effect double-duplex invasion of predetermined DNA sites inducing various changes in the biological and the physicochemical properties of the DNA. This protocol describes solid-phase synthesis of pcPNA. The monomers for G and C are commercially available, but the monomers for D and Us need to be synthesized (or can be ordered to custom synthesis companies). Otherwise, the procedure is the same as that employed for Boc-strategy synthesis of conventional PNA. This protocol, if the synthesis of D and Us monomers is not factored in, takes approximately 7 d to complete.

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Figure 1
Figure 2: Structural features of pcPNA.
Figure 3
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Acknowledgements

This work was partially supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Specially Promoted Research from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology, Japan, and by Research Fellowships of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science for Young Scientists (for Y.A.). Support by the Global COE Program for Chemistry Innovation is also acknowledged.

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  1. Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo, 4-6-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, 153-8904, Japan

    Makoto Komiyama, Yuichiro Aiba, Takumi Ishizuka & Jun Sumaoka

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  1. Makoto Komiyama
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Correspondence to Makoto Komiyama.

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Komiyama, M., Aiba, Y., Ishizuka, T. et al. Solid-phase synthesis of pseudo-complementary peptide nucleic acids. Nat Protoc 3, 646–654 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/nprot.2008.6

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