A new biologically derived organic-metal framework mimics DNA

The field of materials science abounds in "metal-organic structures" (MOFs), polyvalent compounds composed of metal ions connected to organic ligands, thus forming one-dimensional, two-dimensional or three-dimensional structures. The list of MOF applications continues to lengthen, including the separation of petrochemicals, the detoxification of water from heavy metals and fluorinated anions and the extraction of hydrogen or even of gold.

But recently, scientists have started to make MOFs, made of building blocks that typically make up biomolecules, for example. amino acids for proteins or nucleic acids for DNA. In addition to the traditional use of MOFs in chemical catalysis, these biologically derived MOFs can also serve as models for complex biomolecules that are difficult to isolate and study in other ways.

At present, a team of chemical engineers from the Valais Wallis EPFL has synthesized a new biologically derived MOF that can be used as a "nanoreactor" – a place conducive to tiny, inaccessible reactions. Under the direction of Kyriakos Stylianou, scientists from Berend Smit and Lyndon Emsley labs constructed and analyzed the new MOF with adenine molecules, one of the four nucleic bases constituting DNA and DNA. 39; RNA.

The reason was to mimic the functions of DNA, one of which includes the hydrogen bonding interactions between adenine and another nucleobase, thymine. This is a crucial step in the formation of the double helix of DNA, but it also contributes to the overall folding of DNA and RNA at the same time. 39, inside the cell.

By studying their new MOF, researchers have discovered that thymine molecules diffuse into its pores. By simulating this diffusion, they discovered that the thymine molecules were bound to hydrogen with adenine molecules on the cavities of the MOF, which means that the latter managed to mimic what is happening on the planet. # 39; DNA.

"The adenine molecules act as orientation agents of the structure and" block "the thymine molecules in specific positions in the cavities of our MOF," states Kyriakos Stylianou. The researchers took advantage of this lock to illuminate the MOF loaded thymine, a way to catalyze a chemical reaction.

As a result, thymine molecules could be dimerized into a di-thymine product, which scientists have been able to isolate – a huge advantage, since di-thymine is linked to skin cancer and can now be easily isolated and studied.

"Overall, our study highlights the utility of biologically derived MOFs as nanoreactors for capturing biological molecules through specific interactions and for transforming them into other molecules," said Stylianou.