Development Phase : Research

Patent Status : Application

Benefits :
major leap in the application of synthesized polyamides to target specific DNA sequences: able to synthesize linked hairpin polyamides that target specific DNA sequences involved in controlling various aspects of the structural organization of the cell nucleus and chromosomes

molecules are highly sequence specific and permeable to cells.

such molecules have a huge potential for diagnosis and therapy of human pathologies.

References :
Mol Cell. 2000 Nov;6(5):999-1011

Mol Cell. 2000 Nov;6(5):1013-24.

Additional information is available upon signature of a non-disclosure agreement.

Contact :

Dr. Laurent Miéville
tel: +41-22-705-7269
fax: +41-22-329-4290
Unitec
Office of Technology Transfer
University of Geneva
24 rue du General Dufour
Ch-1211 Geneva 4Switzerland

e-mail : unitec@unige.ch

DNA sequence-specific drugs :
amazing chromosome and gene tools

The structural organization of the cell nucleus and chromosomes is a great challenge of biological research. Various genetic phenomena have underscored the importance of long-range chromatin architecture in gene expression and chromosome stability. Architectural DNA is proposed to harbor sequences that mediate nuclear order, chromosome stability and dynamics, sister chromatid cohesion, centromere and telomere formation. Assigning functions to large fractions of the genome has posed many difficulties; however, we have recently developed a new approach by employing small DNA sequence-specific pseudopeptides (polyamides).

Considerable progress was recently made in the synthesis of polyamides, composed of the aromatic amino acids N-methylpyrrole (Py) and N-methylimidazole (Im) that can bind specific DNA sequences with remarkable affinities by Dervan's laboratory at CalTech. We made a number of chemical improvements and synthesized compounds that target various sequences involved in controlling architectural DNA. The long-term applications of these specific DNA binding polyamides range from novel tools for structural studies of chromosomes to diagnostic and therapeutic uses in gene-mediated diseases.