Biotechnology of Azobenzene-Modified DNA and RNA

Abstract

Chemically modified nucleic acids have been widely investigated as antisense and RNAi candidates for therapeutic applications, agents, and probes for nucleic acid analysis, as well as tools for understanding the biological process. On the other hand, artificial regulation of gene expression using light as the external trigger has aroused much interest. In this study, we describe the molecular design of chemical modification of nucleic acid by introducing azobenzene, which can reversibly photoisomerize between trans and cis forms. By using the DNA modified by multiple azobenzenes, the duplex formation and dissociation were efficiently photoregulated. Several enzymatic reactions such as transcription, RNA cleavage, and gene expression were also efficiently photo-controlled. Furthermore, the azobenzene-modified DNA was utilized as a novel nanomaterial to create an artificial double helix for constructing functional nanostructures and nanodevices.