- A nucleic acid is a
complex, high-molecular-weight biochemical macromolecule composed of
nucleotide chains that convey genetic information. The most common
nucleic acids are deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid
(RNA). Nucleic acids are found in all living cells and viruses.
Artificial nucleic acids include peptide nucleic acid (PNA), Morpholino
and locked nucleic acid (LNA), as well as glycol nucleic acid (GNA) and
threose nucleic acid (TNA). Each of these is distinguished from
naturally occurring DNA or RNA by changes to the backbone of the
molecule.
- The term "nucleic acid"
is the generic name of a family of biopolymers, named for their
prevalence in cellular nuclei. The monomers from which nucleic acids are
constructed are called nucleotides. Each nucleotide consists of three
components: a nitrogenous heterocyclic base,which is either a purine or
a pyrimidine; a pentose sugar; and a phosphate group.
- Different nucleic acid
types differ in the structure of the sugar in their nucleotides; DNA
contains 2-deoxyriboses while RNA contains ribose. Likewise, the
nitrogenous bases found in the two nucleic acids are different: adenine,
cytosine, and guanine are in both RNA and DNA, while thymine only occurs
in DNA and uracil only occurs in RNA. Other rare nucleic acid bases can
occur, for example inosine in strands of mature transfer RNA.
- Nucleobases are
heterocyclic aromatic organic compounds containing nitrogen atoms.
Nucleobases are the parts of RNA and DNA involved in base pairing.
Cytosine, guanine, adenine, thymine are the found predominantly in DNA,
while in RNA uracil replaces thymine. These are abbreviated as C, G, A,
T, U, respectively.
- Two main classes exist,
named for the molecule which forms their skeleton. These are the
double-ringed purines and single-ringed pyrimidines. Adenine and guanine
are purines , while cytosine, thymine, and uracil are all
pyrimidines.Hypoxanthine and xanthine are mutant forms of adenine and
guanine, respectively, created through mutagen presence, through
deamination (replacement of the amine-group with a hydroxyl-group).
- In most living
organisms (except for viruses), genetic information is stored in the
molecule deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA. DNA is made and resides in the
nucleus of living cells. Ribosomal RNA (rRNA) differs in eukaryotes vs.
prokaryotes Eukaryotes contain 28, 18, 5.8 and 5 S rRNAs. S is the
sedimentation coefficient, and is a measure of relative size.
Prokaryotes contain 23, 16 and 5 S rRNAs.
- The synthesis of
nucleic acids is important not only as a subject of chemistry but also
as a method in biological studies.The preparation of oligonucleotides
containing modified components is essential to obtain nucleic acid
derivatives for investigations of gene functions. Synthetic genes have
advantages in the preparation of gene products using bacterial
expression systems.
- The companies in the NA
testing field can be divided into three categories. Today, the market is
dominated by large diagnostic companies. These companies have internally
dedicatedR&Dresources and their own technologies to the analysis of
NAs. Roche is the market leader. Since the acquisition of PCR technology
from Chiron for USD 300 million, the company has made investments in
other methods, too.
- Abbott Laboratories
utilise their Ligase chain reaction (LCR) in their LCx analyser . The
test menu consists of STDs (chlamydia, N. gonorrhoea) and respiratory
infections. Bayer Diagnostics acquired Chiron Diagnostics in 1998, and
the company now offers an extensive portfolio of products for clinical
chemistry, immunodiagnostics and nucleic acid diagnostics.
- Scientists at the
California Institute of Technology in the US have developed a postage
stamp-sized chip that can be used to carry out many of the routine steps
involved in isolating and purifying nucleic acids from cells. They also
note that the chips can be used to test a number of samples in parallel,
increasing the throughput of nucleic acid studies without having to rely
on laboratory robotics In addition, they and use only a fraction of the
reagents needed by current extraction and purification methods,
potentially reducing costs.
- Fuji Photo Film has
entered the worldwide nucleic acid extraction marketplace with a product
which it claims can deliver DNA whole blood samples in as little as six
minutes. The QuickGene-800 is a compact, small footprint, tabletop
DNA/RNA isolation system that claims to produce higher yields such as
5.0 u.g compared to the standard 3.5-4.0 u.g. The QuickGene-800 will be
available for sale in the US as of March 2005 for $10,000 (€6,600) with
pricing for the DNA whole blood kit (96 samples) at $210, DNA from
tissues (96 samples) at $225 and RNA from Cultured Cells (96 samples) at
$335.
- Kalorama thought the
current world market for nucleic acid therapeutics was small, estimating
it at about $1 billion - $5 billion (€769 million - €3.8 billion), its
size being an unfair representation of what could be achieved by nucleic
acid-based therapeutics. The number of companies involved in the
development of nucleic acid-based therapeutics was also expected to
increase over the next two years, largely based on RNAi technology and
nucleoside analogs, after which the population is expected to stabilize
and decline.
- Qiagen has sold off its
embattled nucleic acid synthesis business in a management buyout, but
has retained a minority stake and all activities relating to RNA
interference (RNAi), a potent new drug discovery tool. It is estimated
that the research market is around $300 million currently and will
increase to $400 million in 2005 and $850 million by 2010. The value of
the drug discovery market based on RNAi can be assessed at $500 million
currently with increase to $650 million in the year 2005 and further
doubling to $1 billion in the year 2010. Even if a few products get into
the market by the year 2010, this market will expand to $3.5 billion
based on revenues from sales of RNAi-based drugs.
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General
Information
- Nucleic Acid
- Basics of Nucleic
Acid
- Common Nucleic Acids:
DNA and RNA
- Chemistry of DNA and
RNA
- Nucleic Acid
Database
- Nucleic Acid Conjugates
Production and
Purification
- Production of Nucleic
Acid-related Substances by Fermentative Processes
- Preparation of Nucleic
Acid
- Nucleic Acid
Preparation
- DNA Manufacturing
Process
- Nucleic acid isolation
from moss protonemata
- A rapid method for
isolation of total nucleic acids from Aspergillus nidulans
- Automated nucleic acid
purification
- Purification of phage
nucleic acid
- Overview of Nucleic
Acid Purification and Isolation
- Purification of Nucleic
Acid
- Genomic DNA
Purification
- Nucleic Acid
Purification
Synthesis
- Nucleic acid
synthesis
- Nucleic Acid Synthesis
and Purification
- Nucleic acid synthesis
and Turnover in Tissue Culture
- Nucleic Acid Synthesis
in Microsporocytes of Lilium Cinnabar
- Nucleic acid synthesis
for investigations of gene functions
- Nucleic acid synthesis
in Lactobacillus Casei
- Inhibition of Nucleic
Acid Synthesis by Folie Acid Antagonists
Extraction and
Reagents
- Nucleic Acid extraction
by the Boom Method
- Nucleic Acid Extraction
- RNA Extraction from
Mammalian Tissue
- Robotic Nucleic Acid
Extraction for Influenza Detection
- Nucleic Acid Extraction and
Purification Reagents
- Nucleid Acid Extraction
Reagents
Hybridization
- Nucleic Acid
Hybridization
- Nucleic Acid
Hybridization - General Aspects
- Detection of
Aquareovirus RNA in Fish Tissues by Nucleic Acid Hybridization
- Nucleic Acid
Hybridization for Detection of Cell Culture-Amplified Adenovirus
- Nucleic Acid
Hybridization Studies within the Genus Cucurbitai
- Nucleic Acid
Hybridization for Measurement of Antiviral Compounds on Human
Cytomegalovirus
- Hybridization of
Nucleic Acid
Structure
- Nucleic Acid
Structure
- Structure of DNA
- Structure of Yeast
Nucleic Acid
- Chemical etiology of
nucleic acid structure
- Molecular Structure of
Nucleic Acid
- Nucleic Acid
Structure
- DNA Structure
- Structure of Double
Stranded Nucleic Acids
- Nucleotide Structure
- DNA-RNA
Structure
Functions
- Functions of Nucleic
Acid
- Function of DNA and
RNA
- Nucleic Acid
Functions
- General Functions of
Nucleic Acids
- Phase Determination of
Nucleic Acid X-ray Crystallograph
- Functions of Nucleic
Acid
- Functions of RNA
- Functions of DNA
Properties
- Physical and Chemical
properties of nucleic acids
- Properties of Some
Plant Virus Nucleic Acid
- Nucleic Acids:
Properties
- Nucleic acid-binding
properties
- Properties of Sonic
Fragments of Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid
- Properties of nucleic
acids
Research Centres and
Company Profiles
- Cogenics
- Mirus
- Merck
- Invitrogen
- Novartis
- Ocimum
Biosolutions
- Polymorphic DNA
Technologies,Inc.
- Hangzhou Meiya Pharmacy Co.,Ltd.
- Qiagen
- SeraCare Life Sciences
- Transgenomic
Consultants
- Asa Ben-Hur
- Boston Biomedical
Consultants, Inc.
- Charles R.
Cantor
- Creative Information Consultants, Inc
- Expert in Nucleic
Acid
- Jacqueline R.
Wyatt
- Pier Carlo
Montecucchi
- Mary P. Glackin,
Applications
- Emerging clinical
applications of nucleic acids
- Nucleic Acid Vaccines
Against Rickettsial Disease
- Nucleic acid reactive
antibodies—Specificities and applications
- Nucleic Acids and Its
Application
- Application of Locked
Nucleic Acids
- Application of peptide
nucleic acid (PNA) for detection of transcription factors binding
probes
- Peptide nucleic acid
(PNA): its medical and biotechnical applications
- Inhibition of Proteus
Swarming by Nucleic Acid Product
Product
- SYBR Green II nucleic
acid gel stain
- NanoDrop®
ND-1000
- Nucleic acid
electrophoresis
- Nucleic Acid Gel Stain
- Nucleic Acid Products
- Nucleic Acid Stains
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Technology and Technique
- Nucleic Acid Technology
and Infectious Diseases
- BBI Nucleic Acid
Technology
- Microfabrication
Technologies for Integrated Nucleic Acid Analysis
- Micro-System for
Nucleic Acid Based Pathogen Detection
- ChargeSwitch®
Technology for Nucleic Acid Purification
- Nucleic Acid Techniques
– Mollicute Screening Assay
- Membrane immobilization
of nucleic acids
Patent
- Disposable sample
processing module for detecting nucleic acids
- Method for detecting
nucleic acid
- Assay for nucleic acid
ligase and nucleic acid nuclease
- Stabilizing a nucleic
acid for nucleic acid sequencing
- Method of analyzing
nucleic acid
- Method for the
detection of nucleic acids
- Method for nucleic acid
extraction and nucleic acid purification
- Nucleic acid ligands
- Process for recovery of
nucleic acids
Projects
- Peptide Nucleic Acids
as a Novel Cancer Therapeutic Strategy
- Nucleic Acid
Project
- Nucleic Acid
Preparation Project
- Developing Rapid
Nucleic Acid Based Tests for Detection of Endemic Swine Viruses
- Miniature Integrated
Nucleic Acid Diagnostic (MIND(TM)) Development
Material
Safety Data Sheet
- AquaPlasmidTM
Solution
- AquaPrecipi
Solution
- Nucleic Acid Extraction
Kit
- List of Nucleic Acid
Data Sheet
- Nucleic Acid Isolation
System
- RecoverAll™ Total
Nucleic Acid Isolation
- SafeView™ Nucleic Acid
Stain
Market
- Nucleic Acid
Diagnostics Market
- Fuji develops system
for nucleic acid market
- Nucleic Acid Market
Trend
- Major Healthcare Trends
in Europe
- Novartis to market
newly approved Procleix® Tigris® System in U.S. as the first fully
automated system for blood screening
- Nucleic acid drug
market
- Overview of the Current
Status of the Nucleic Acid Testing Market in China
Report
- Effects of Bandwidth
and Determination of Nucleic Acid Purity
- Nucleic Acid Company
Report
- Summary of a Workshop
on Implementation of Nucleic Acid Testing
- Recent Developments in
Nucleic Acid Testing used in Blood Screening
- Nucleic Acid Labeling
and Delivery Tools for Neurobiology Technical Report
- Effects of
A-Methopterin on Nucleic Acid Synthesis in Leukemic Spleen Breis
- Recovery efficiencies
of nucleic acid extraction kits as measured by quantitative
LightCyclerTM PCR
- Effects of Antitumor
Drugs upon P32Incorporation into Nucleic Acids of Mouse Tumors
- Vitro Diagnostics
Report
Manufacturers and
Suppliers
- Westburg
- Foreign Suppliers of
Nucleic Acid
- Selling Leads of
Nucleic Acid
- Manufacturers of
Nucleic Acid
- Exporters of Nucleic
Acid
- Nucleic Acid
Suppliers
- Trade Leads of Nucleic Acid
Equipments Suppliers
- Auto Gen, Inc
- Hy Laboratories
Ltd
- Suppliers of Automated
Grinders
- Foreign Suppliers of
Automated Grinders
- Indian Exporters of
Automated Grinders
- Homogenizer Foreign
Suppliers
- Indian Exporters of
Homogenizer
- Manufacturers of
Homogenizer
- Incubator Foreign
Suppliers
- Suppliers of Incubator
- Manufacturers of
Incubator
Nucleic Acid
Testing
- Nucleic Acid Testing
for Novices
- Nucleic Acid
Testing in Europe
- Nucleic Acid
Amplification Testing for HIV
- Nucleic Acid
Amplification Testing: New Disease Testing Method for Donor Blood
- Multicenter Proficiency
Testing of Nucleic Acid Amplification Methods
Safety
and Guides
- Guidelines for Nucleic
Acid Industry
- Safety Considerations
of DNA in Food
- Recombinant DNA Safety
Considerations
- Safety Issues of
Nucleic Acid
- FDA Clearance for
Nucleic Acid
- Guidelines for
Licensing Veterinary Nucleic Acid Vaccines
- Unregulated Hazards
‘Naked’ and ‘Free’ Nucleic Acids
- FAQ's About Nucleic
Acid
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