Phospholipid membrane permeability of peptide nucleic acid
Journal article, 1995

Phospholipid vesicles (liposomes) as membrane models have been used to study the penetration properties of peptide nucleic acid (PNA), a new DNA analog in which the nucleobases are attached to a pseudo-peptide backbone, The liposomes were characterised by carboxyfluorescein efflux, light-scattering and cryogenic transmission electron microscopy. The liposome structure was found not to be affected by the incorporation of PNA or an oligonucleotide. Two 10-mer fluorescein-labelled PNAs were found to have low efflux rates (half-times of 5.5 and 11 days), comparable to a 10-mer oligonucleotide (half-time of 7 days). We conclude that passive diffusion of unmodified PNA is not an effective way of transport into biological cells.

oligonucleotide analogs

pna

thymine

microscopy

dna

antisense

vesicles

liposome

fluorescence

peptide nucleic acid

recognition

cryogenic transmission electron

Author

Pernilla Wittung

Department of Physical Chemistry

Johan Kajanus

Department of Organic Chemistry

K. Edwards

P. Nielsen

Bengt Nordén

Department of Physical Chemistry

B. G. Malmstrom

FEBS Letters

0014-5793 (ISSN) 18733468 (eISSN)

Vol. 365 1 27-29

Subject Categories

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

DOI

10.1016/0014-5793(95)00409-3

More information

Latest update

10/15/2018