Assistant Professor Julián Valero Moreno, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics & iNANO, Aarhus University

Artificial Nucleic Acids (ArtNAs): From dynamic nanostructures to biomedical applications

Developing molecules that mimic the exquisite and sophisticated functions of proteins represents a major challenge in chemistry. Besides their role as information carriers and despite a few outstanding functional examples (e.g. ribozymes, ribosomes, etc.), naturally occurring nucleic acids (DNA and RNA) do not display the manifold functions that proteins possess.  

My research revolves around the development of artificial nucleic acids with enhanced structural and chemical diversity in order to create nanostructures that efficiently mimic the properties and functions of proteins. I will show that by combining nucleic acid nanotechnology, novel bioconjugation methods and in vitro selection techniques, we can generate a new class of nucleic acid systems and apply them for different purposes. I will show their use as building blocks for constructing different artificial molecular motors driven by chemical energy and light. Moreover, I will show the potential of ArtNAs for the selection of high affinity “synthetic antibodies”, called aptamers for SARS-CoV-2 targeting and detection as well as other biomedical applications. 

Host: Professor Jørgen Kjems