DNA AS A TOOL FOR MOLECULAR DISCOVERY - Modern Tools for the Synthesis of Complex Bioactive Molecules - page 534

16
DNA AS A TOOL FOR
MOLECULAR DISCOVERY

CHAPTER

MICHAEL SMIETANA and JEAN-JACQUES VASSEUR
Institut des Biomol ´ cules Max Mousseron, UMR 5247 CNRS,
Universit ´ de Montpellier 1 et 2, Montpellier, France

JANINE COSSY and STELLIOS ARSENIYADIS
Laboratoire de Chimie Organique, UMR 7084 CNRS ESPCI ParisTech,
Paris, France

As evidenced by the previous chapters, the development of powerful synthetic tools
has shaped the way chemists tackle the synthesis of complex bioactives. The
developments brought in the field of metal catalysis (cross-couplings, metatheses,
C-H functionalizations), organocatalysis (enantioselective organocatalysis,
asymmetric phase-transfer catalysis), or even in new technologies (flow chemistry,
solid-phase organic synthesis) have definitely had a great impact on synthetic organic
chemistry. More recently, hybrid catalysis has also emerged as a particularly useful
tool by combining the attractive features of both homogeneous and biocatalysis.
The discovery of the three-dimensional double helix structure of DNA is
without a doubt one of the greatest scientific achievements. First reported by James
Watson and Francis Crick in 1953 [1], DNA is mostly known as the carrier of the
genetic information. More recently, the quest to understand at the molecular level the
interactions between the various sequences and structures of DNA and other chemical
species initiated what is now known as modern molecular genetics and synthetic
biology. The development of routine oligonucleotide synthesis is also another
milestone in the advancement in modern biotechnology, allowing a rapid and
inexpensive access to custom-made oligonucleotides with the desired sequence [2,3].
During the past three decades, the structure of DNA has been the center of intensive
research in the fields of diagnostic [4], therapeutics [5], and material sciences [6]. It is
only in the last decade that the scientific community started to exploit the fascinating
helical structure of DNA for synthetic purposes, particularly in the field of asymmetric
catalysis. Indeed, the binding ability of DNA, its water solubility, and biodegradability
have made it a particularly attractive material for the development of new trends in