Threose nucleic acid
Ácido nucleico treósico
- Date
- 2000 · confidence high
- Place
- Zurich, Switzerland
- Credited to
- Albert Eschenmoser
- Field
- Life & health
What it is
Artificial genetic polymer created by Albert Eschenmoser in which RNA's ribose sugar is replaced by a four-carbon threose; it can base-pair with DNA and RNA and resists degradation by nucleases.
What it led to
- Use as a xeno nucleic acid (XNA) in synthetic biology
- Therapeutic and diagnostic applications due to its resistance to nucleases
- Contribution to the debate on the chemical origin of RNA