DNA/RNA-Metal Ion Interaction Analysis

Background

From a chemical point of view, the essence of nucleic acid (DNA and RNA) is the salts or complexes of metal ions. Because of its polyanionic nature, nucleic acid cannot exist if it is not closely associated with cations, it is impossible to separate the behavior of DNA and RNA from the metal ions that bind to it. Metal-nucleic acid interactions usually involve the biochemical properties of nucleotides, the storage and transfer of genetic information, the control of gene expression, and mediate nucleic acid-protein interactions, but they may also cause some major conformational changes. They can induce nucleic acid bending and structural transformation, and induce chemical modification and cleavage, even mutagenesis and carcinogenesis. In addition to their structural functions, the coordination metal ions are often closely related to the catalytic function of ribozymes.

At present, the technologies used to study nucleic acid have made great progress, which has led to the rapid growth of interest in the field of metal-nucleic acid interaction in the scientific community. In order to further understand the structure and function of nucleic acids, it is necessary to discuss in detail the structure, thermodynamic and dynamic properties of these biological macromolecules and the metal ions that interact with them.

Fig 1. Crystal structures reveal details of ion-nucleic acid interactions (Lipfert, J.; et al. 2014)

Services

Creative Proteomics has developed a series of comprehensive technologies to explore the interaction between nucleic acids and metal ions. Our technology platform combines biochemical, thermodynamic, electrochemical and spectroscopy methods to accurately locate, identify and characterize metal ion binding sites. The technologies we provide include but are not limited to the following types.

• Lanthanide (III) luminescence
• Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy
• X-ray absorption spectroscopy
• Raman spectroscopy
• Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy
• Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy

Customers can choose a certain technology according to the needs of the project, or contact us directly for consultation, and our expert team will provide you with a customized experimental program.

Applications

• Nucleic acid-metal ion interaction research
• Nucleic acid biosynthesis, conformation maintenance, function and regulation research
• Anti-cancer drug development
• Spectral probe development
• DNA-based metal nanodevices development

Highlights

• High sensitivity
• Systematic technology platform
• Strong signal specificity
• Professional data processing and calculation tools
• One-stop service

Creative Proteomics has been focusing on studying the interaction between metal ions and nucleic acids for more than ten years, our biology and chemistry experts have rich experience in this field. With our help, customers can explore the relationship between metal ions and nucleic acids in many ways, and analyze their biological and medical functions in a deeper level. We are honored to be your competent research assistant.