Sequence-defined vinyl sulfonamide click nucleic acids (VS-CNAs) and their assembly into dynamically responsive materials

Chem Commun (Camb). 2020 Sep 24;56(76):11263-11266. doi: 10.1039/d0cc04235h.

Abstract

Synthetic DNA analogues are of great interest for their application in information storage, therapeutics, and nanostructured materials, yet are often limited in scalability. Vinyl sulfonamide click nucleic acids (VS-CNAs) have been developed to overcome this limitation using the highly efficient thiol-Michael 'click' reaction. Utilizing all four nucleobases, sequence-defined click nucleic acids (CNAs) were synthesized using a simple and scalabale solution-phase approach. Employing a polyethylene glycol (PEG) support, synthesis of the CNA sequence, GATTACA, was achieved in high yields. CNA crosslinked hydrogels were assembled using multiarm PEG-CNAs resulting in materials that dynamically respond to temperature, strain, and competitive sequences.

MeSH terms

  • DNA / chemical synthesis
  • DNA / chemistry*
  • Hydrogels / chemical synthesis
  • Hydrogels / chemistry*
  • Materials Testing
  • Polyethylene Glycols / chemistry
  • Sulfonamides / chemistry*
  • Temperature

Substances

  • Hydrogels
  • Sulfonamides
  • vinyl sulfonamide
  • Polyethylene Glycols
  • DNA