Nucleic acid-ligand conjugates - Precision tools for high affinitry and high specificity interactions in Chemistry and Biology (B01)

• Subject Area: Biological and Biomimetic Chemistry
• Term: from 2008 to 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 32049920

The spatially defined display of ligands on nucleic acid architectures enables explorations of scope and specificity of multivalent binding. We will address fundamental questions about the reach and specificity of multivalency. Is there a distance limit for the affinity enhancements obtainable by multivalent receptor/ligand interactions? In studies of mannose binding lectins, we will explore spatially directed multivalency. It is the aim to achieve selectivity-by-multivalency for a specific receptor. Vectored alignment of anions will enable the development of specific binders for arginine-rich receptors.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 765: Multivalency as Chemical Organisation and Action Principle: New Architectures, Functions and Applications
• Applicant Institution: Freie Universität Berlin
• Co-Applicant Institution: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
• Project Head: Professor Dr. Oliver Seitz