Light-activated RNA interference using double-stranded siRNA precursors modified using a remarkable regiospecificity of diazo-based photolabile groups.

ABSTRACT: Diazo-based precursors of photolabile groups have been used extensively for modifying nucleic acids, with the intention of toggling biological processes with light. These processes include transcription, translation and RNA interference. In these cases, the photolabile groups have been typically depicted as modifying the phosphate backbone of RNA and DNA. In this work we find that these diazo-based reagents in fact react very poorly with backbone phosphates. Instead, they show a remarkable specificity for terminal phosphates and very modest modification of the nucleobases. Furthermore, the photo deprotection of these terminal modifications is shown to be much more facile than nucleobase modified sites. In this study we have characterized this regiospecificity using RNA duplexes and model n

SUBMITTER: Shah S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2715251 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature