Functional Nucleic Acids

TOPICAL COLLECTIONS

Guest Editors

Jessica Rouge

University of Connecticut

Jessica received her a PhD in Chemistry from Prof. Bruce E. Eaton’s laboratory at the University of Colorado in 2012. It was during her time in Colorado that Jessica used in vitro selection platforms to explore RNA’s potential to mediate the formation of inorganic nanoscale structures, much like an organism can guide the formation of bones and shells using biological templates. After completing her PhD, Jessica began her postdoctoral studies in 2013 in the laboratory of Prof. Chad A. Mirkin at Northwestern University. In the Mirkin Laboratory, she applied the skills she learned for interfacing RNA and inorganic materials for developing enzymatic assembly approaches useful for synthesizing RNA gold nanoparticle conjugates with the potential for intracellular gene regulation applications. In 2015, Jessica joined the faculty of the University of Connecticut, where she is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry. There she combines the chemical diversity of nucleic acids with the synthesis of nanoscale materials for a wide variety of applications in biological systems.

Jonathan Sczepanski

Texas A&M University

Jonathan received a PhD from Johns Hopkins University under the guidance of Prof. Marc Greenberg. His doctoral work focused on understanding the chemical basis for the cytotoxicity of drugs and other modalities that target DNA by using organic synthesis to prepare, in a homogeneous fashion, the damage formed by these reagents. After completing his PhD, Jonathan joined the laboratory of Prof. Gerald Joyce at The Scripps Research Institute, where he obtained extensive training in directed evolution. During this period, Jonathan showed that mirror image nucleic acids (L-DNA and L-RNA) can be evolved to bind and manipulate native RNA, thereby expanding nucleic acid interactions across the chiral mirror. Jonathan began his independent career at Texas A&M in the fall of 2015, where he is currently an Associate Professor of Chemistry. His research program combines expertise in nucleic acids chemistry, chemical and molecular biology, and directed evolution to address biologically relevant questions and human health needs.

Collection Overview

In this themed collection on functional nucleic acids, we seek to highlight the rich diversity of nucleic acid structures, both RNA and DNA, that engage in a function, whether it be chemical or physical. In vitro selection techniques have been used to identify nucleic acids sequences capable of substrate binding and catalysis, while the predictability of Watson-Crick base pairing interactions has allowed engineering of function sequences into powerful tools for basic research and clinical applications. This series will focus on methods related to the discovery, characterization, and applications of functional nucleic acids, including aptamers, ribozymes, and DNAzymes. In particular, this collection will provide a valuable resource to laboratories seeking to carry out in vitro selection experiments for the first time, which remains challenging without hands-on experience. We also aim to highlight methods for engineering functional nucleic acids into usable biotechnologies and how they are being applied in research and medicine.