L. Anhäuser, F. Muttach, A. Rentmeister
Chem. Commun. 2018, DOI:10.1039/C7CC08300A
Methyltransferases are powerful tools for site-specific transfer of non-natural functional groups from synthetic analogs of their cosubstrate S-adenosyl-L-methionine (AdoMet). We present a new class of AdoMet analogs containing photo-caging (PC) groups in their side chain, enzymatic transfer of PC groups by a promiscuous DNA MTase as well as light-triggered removal from the target DNA. This strategy provides a new avenue to reversibly modulate the functionality of DNA at MTase target sites.
Markus Kramer, Clemens Richert
Chem. Biodiversity 2017, DOI:10.1002/cbdv.201700315 (open access)
Chemical ligation of synthetic oligonucleotides in small origami nanostructures is higher yielding than in linear duplexes.

Nayan P. Agarwal, Michael Matthies, Fatih F. N. Gür, Kensuke Osada, Thorsten L. Schmidt
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2017, DOI:10.1002/anie.201608873

DNA nanotechnology enables the synthesis of nanometer-sized objects that can be site-specifically functionalized with a large variety of materials. For these reasons, DNA-based devices such as DNA origami are being considered for applications in molecular biology and nanomedicine. However, many DNA structures need a higher ionic strength than that of common cell culture buffers or bodily fluids to maintain their integrity and can be degraded quickly by nucleases. To overcome these deficiencies, we coated several different DNA origami structures with a cationic poly(ethylene glycol)–polylysine block copolymer, which electrostatically covered the DNA nanostructures to form DNA origami polyplex micelles (DOPMs). This straightforward, cost-effective, and robust route to protect DNA-based structures could therefore enable applications in biology and nanomedicine where unprotected DNA origami would be degraded.
Moritz Welter, Daniela Verga, Andreas Marx
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2016, DOI:10.1002/ange.201604641
Enzym-verknüpfte Nukleotide dienen trotz ihrer Größe als Substrat für hochselektive DNA-Polymerasen und können so zum Beispiel zur Detektion und Genotypisierung von DNA- und RNA-Templaten genutzt werden.

Alexander Finke, Holger Bußkamp, Marilena Manea, Andreas Marx
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2016, DOI:10.1002/ange.201604687
Ein DNA-Peptid-basiertes Netzwerk wurde mithilfe der Polymerase-Kettenreaktion erzeugt, auf dem Zelltypen selektiv gebunden, als auch anschließend wieder abgelöst werden können.

Almudena Ponce-Salvatierra, Katarzyna Wawrzyniak-Turek, Ulrich Steuerwald, Claudia Höbartner, Vladimir Pena
Nature 2016, DOI:10.1038/nature16471
Die erste dreidimensionale Struktur eines DNA-Enzyms (blau) gebunden an das Produkt der DNA-katalysierten Ligation zweier RNA Stücke (orange).
