Chemically modified peptide nucleic acids

我们对肽核酸（缩写为PNA）的研究重点是引入化学修饰，使这类分子广泛用于检测DNA序列。独特的DNA序列与疾病、病原体和许多与生物恐怖主义有关的物质有关。从这些试剂中检测DNA可用作检测其存在或不存在的方法。我们的研究涉及一类与特定DNA序列结合的非天然分子（称为PNA）的合成。我们可以设计我们的分子来结合任何DNA序列，在过去的一年里，我们发现我们的分子非常擅长选择性识别与炭疽有关的DNA。目前，我们正在将我们的分子与检测设备相结合，以创建一个强大而可靠的系统来检测炭疽和其他病原体。

Our research on Peptide Nucleic Acids (abbreviated as PNAs) focuses on introducing chemical modifications that will make this class of molecules broadly useful to detect sequences of DNA. Unique DNA sequences are associated with diseases, pathogens, and many agents associated with bioterrorism. Detection of DNA from these agents can be employed as a method to detect their presence or absence. Our research involves the synthesis of a class of non-natural molecules (called PNAs) that bind to specific DNA sequences. We can design our molecules to bind to any sequence of DNA, and this past year we have found that our molecules are extremely good at selective recognition of DNA associated with anthrax. Currently, we are combining our molecules with detection devices to create a robust and reliable system for detection of anthrax and other pathogens.