We show that DNA enzymes (deoxyribozymes) can introduce azide functional groups at tyrosine residues in peptide substrates. Using in vitro selection, we identified deoxyribozymes that transfer the 2'-azido-2'-deoxyadenosine 5'-monophosphoryl group (2'-Az-dAMP) from the analogous 5'-triphosphate (2'-Az-dATP) onto the tyrosine hydroxyl group of a peptide, which is either tethered to a DNA anchor or free. Some of the new deoxyribozymes are general with regard to the amino acid residues surrounding the tyrosine, while other DNA enzymes are sequence-selective. We use one of the new deoxyribozymes to modify free peptide substrates by attaching PEG moieties and fluorescent labels.
Keywords: DNA; deoxyribozymes; in vitro selection; peptide modification; peptides.
© 2016 The Authors. Published by Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.