DNA architectures: Small 13/2009

The cover image shows dimers of DNA minicircles held together by polyamide “anchors”. In the foreground an artistic representation of the central part of the complex shows the DNA rings in yellow and the polyamide anchors in red. The Dervan-type polyamides mainly consist of pyrrole and imidazole moieties and are strong, sequence-specific minor groove binders. Each of the identical rings contains both a polyamide anchor covalently attached to one of the double strands and the binding site for the anchor. The background is an atomic force microscopy image of the self-assembled complexes. The polyamide anchors provide a powerful new tool for DNA tertiary interactions. For more information, please read the Communication “Pyrrole/Imidazole–Polyamide Anchors for DNA Tertiary Interactions” by T. L. Schmidt and A. Heckel, beginning on page 1517.