800.227.0627

Perspectives on Chemistry and Therapeutic Applications of Locked Nucleic Acid (LNA)

05/22/2014
This review focuses on the potentials and perspectives of Locked Nucleic Acid (LNA)-based oligonucleotides as therapeutic candidates. It briefly outlines various oligonucleotide- based gene silencing approaches with attention to the practical constraints leading to their downfall, as well as the diverse classes of modified nucleotide analogues that have been widely used until now to modulate gene expression. Their mode of action, characterstics, and inherent drawbacks are also stated.

It provides an exhaustive account of the advances made from the discovery of LNA to the latest developments in the area of LNA research. Beginning from synthetic methods and the different structural analogues of LNA synthesized until now, it gives detailed insight into the multiple novel attributes of LNA that make it preferable over all other classes of modified nucleic acid analogues for in ViVo applications. An explicit account of the succcessful application of LNA technology in different areas of research such as antisense and antigene strategies, diagnostics, genotyping, and so forth is described along with the current status of LNA in clinical trials. The review concludes with a discussion of the future prospects of LNA technology in the field of therapeutics and genomics.