Design and implementation of an ribonucleic acid (RNA) directed fragment library.

The design of RNA binding ligands is complicated by issues of specificity, target flexibility, and the tractability of known RNA inhibitors toward chemical derivitization. To address these difficulties, an RNA-directed fragment compound library is presented. We began with an analysis of 120 small molecules with reported RNA-binding activity.

4-Anilino-1-benzyl-piperidine-4-carbo-nitrile.

The title mol-ecule, C(19)H(21)N(3), an important precursor in the synthesis of porphyrin-fentanyl conjugates, has its piperidine ring in the chair conformation, with endocyclic torsion-angle magnitudes in the range 53.26 (8)-60.63 (9)°.