Transition-metal complexes as inhibitors of proteins recognizing double-stranded fragments of nucleic acids.

A 30-membered DNA duplex containing the recognition site of restriction endonuclease SsoII and a 30-membered RNA--DNA hybrid duplex, a substrate of E. coli RNase H, were synthesized. The cleavage of the 30-membered fragments of nucleic acids catalyzed by endonucleases in the presence of Co-phthalocyanine complex [CoPc(COONa)8] containing eight carboxyl groups at the periphery of the ligand was studied.

Use of UV spectroscopy for the study of nucleic acid cleavage by E. coli RNase H and restriction endonucleases.

A one-step spectrophotometric method for monitoring of nucleic acid cleavage by ribonuclease H from E. coli and type II restriction endonucleases has been proposed. It is based on recording of the increase in the UV absorbance at 260 nm during the course of enzymatic reaction.

Oligonucleotide circularization by template-directed chemical ligation.

An efficient method for producing the covalent closure of oligonucleotides on complementary templates by the action of BrCN was developed. A rational design of linear precursor oligonucleotides was studied, and the effect of factors such as oligonucleotide concentration and oligomer-template length ratio was evaluated. The efficiency of circularization was shown to correlate well with the secondary structure of the precursor oligomer (as predicted by a simple computer analysis), hairpin-like structures bearing free termini clearly favouring the circularization reaction.

The use of oligonucleotide probes containing 2'-deoxy-2'-fluoronucleosides for regiospecific cleavage of RNA by RNase H from Escherichia coli.

Protected 2'-deoxy-2'-fluorouridine and 2'-deoxy-2'-fluorocytidine suitable for incorporation into oligonucleotides via the phosphoramidite approach have been prepared. Five modified and two unmodified oligonucleotides have been synthesized to investigate the regiospecific cleavage of a 5S RNA from Escherichia coli by RNase H. In order to show whether the modified oligonucleotides are able to hybridize with the RNA the physico-chemical properties (melting curves, CD spectra) of analogous DNA/oligodeoxyribonucleotide duplexes have been examined.