SECONDARY STRUCTURES OF DNA AND PNA: FROM ORDERED SUPRAMOLECULAR GQUADRUPLEXES TO PNA/DNA HETERODUPLEXES

Oligonucleotides and oligonucleotide analogues are extremely versatile molecules from a biotechnological point of view, since they could be used as scaffolds for the development of new drugs in therapeutics, but also for the development of new materials in nanotechnology. The present thesis is included in this context and it is aimed at the discovery of all potential applications of these molecules. In particular, my work is mainly focused on: ✓ The synthesis and characterization of a novel G-rich ODN sequence for the development of long G-wires; ✓ The synthesis and characterization of PNA sequences to be used in a novel approach for the treatment of Cystic Fibrosis; ✓ The synthesis and characterization of a short sequence of PNA conjugated to a novel bifunctional linker aimed at the obtainment of PNA-based quadruplex.