Supramolecular recognition of nucleic acid junction structures involved in viral RNA regulation and DNA.

RNA exhibits a wide range of dynamic structural motifs including bulges and junctions that govern the interaction with other RNAs and with proteins. As such they play critical roles in regulation of RNA activity. Such RNA activity is crucial not only in mammalian cells but also to the action of viruses. This project will explore new designs of nano size agents that are matched to different types of nucleic acid structure and investigate at the molecular level how they bind these NA structures, what their binding preference is and how they affect the dynamics of the structures, and then use them to probe the importance of these structures in the activity of RNA viruses. This will be achieved through combining synthesis, biophysical studies, computational simulations and in cell viral studies.