Nucleic Acid Center is a research centre established in 2001, based on fundings from the Danish National Research Foundation for studies on Nucleic Acid Chemical Biology.
The idea of the research center was to combine synthetic organic chemistry and the encoded recognition pattern of nucleic acids in novel innovative and creative ways.
The research center is located at the University of Southern Denmark, at the Department of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy and the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, joining the major research areas of nucleic acid chemical biology under one roof.
Synthetic bioorganic chemistry
The research groups of Professor Jesper Wengel, Associate Professor Poul Nielsen and Associate Professor Erik Bjerregaard Pedersen are directed towards the synthesis and applications of modified oligonucleotides (DNA-analogues), for example C-branched oligonucleotides and conformationally restricted DNA-analogues such as the recently discovered LNA (Locked Nucleic Acid), which compared to all other known DNA-analogues displays unprecedented binding affinity towards complementary DNA and RNA.
The construction of nucleic acid derivatives modelling and targeting RNA secondary structures is another prime subject as well as the synthesis and biological evaluation of small molecules (nucleosides, nucleotides and DNA/RNA intercalators) and their conjugated analogues.
Biomolecular NMR spectroscopy and molecular modelling
The biomolecular NMR group is headed by Associate Professor Michael Petersen. The group focuses on the application of NMR spectroscopy and molecular modelling to study nucleic acids and nucleic acid-protein complexes.
Currently, the group is studying:
- the structural and dynamical properties of LNA (and LNA analogues) modified nucleic acids in the context of duplex, triplex and quadruplex formation
- structural properties of various RNA molecules of viral and ribosomal origin.
RNA molecular biology
The RNA group at the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology is headed by Associate Professor Stephen Douthwaite and focuses on the effects of modified nucleotides on the folding and function of RNA molecules, as well as on the detection of modified bases in rRNA and the interference of physiologically important RNA-protein interactions.