PNA - PEPTIC NUCLEIC ACID TECHNOLOGY

     PNA (Peptide Nucleic Acid) an artificially created DNA analogue was invented by Drs. Nielsen, Egholm, Berg, and Buchardt in 1991. The phosphate ribose ring of DNA was replaced with the polyamide backbone in PNA. Despite a radical structural change, PNA is capable of sequence-specific binding in a helix form to its complementary DNA or RNA sequence. 

      Due to its superior binding affinity and chemical/biological stability, PNA has been widely applied in the field of biology.

COMPARATIVE STRUCTURES OF PNA AND DNA

 

Main features of PNA are as follows.

High binding affinity to its complementary DNA or RNA Differentiation of sing-base mismatch by high destabilizing effect High chemical stability to temperature and pH High biological stability to nuclease and protease Salt independence during hybridization with DNA sequence Triplex formation with continuous homopurine DNA