PEPTIDE NUCLEIC-ACID (PNA) - A DNA MIMIC WITH A PSEUDOPEPTIDE BACKBONE

PNA (peptide nucleic acid) is a DNA mimic with a pseudopeptide backbon e composed of N-(2-aminoethyl)glycine units with the nucleobases attac hed to the glycine nitrogen via carbonyl methylene linkers, PNA was fi rst described in 1991 and has since then attracted broad attention wit hin the fields of bioorganic chemistry, medicinal chemistry, physical chemistry and molecular biology due to its chemical and physical prope rties, in particular with regard to efficient and sequence specific bi nding to both single stranded RNA and DNA as well as to double strande d. DNA, The present review discusses the structural features that prov ide the DNA mimicking properties of PNA and gives an overview of struc tural backbone modifications of PNA.