Research area

The primary focus of this group is on understanding the structure, function and dynamics of nucleic acids, particularly RNA. We apply both biophysical and biochemical techniques, with a strong emphasis on nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR). One of the major areas of our research involves structural studies of RNA quadruplexes, including their modes of interaction with various ligands. Our interests also focus on duplex-quadruplex structural hybrids, as promising tools for silencing gene expression.

• Structural and functional studies of RNA duplex-quadruplex hybrids,
• Silencing of gene expression using small RNAs with dual functionality,
• Design and synthesis of G-quadruplex selective ligands,
• G-quadruplex interactions with ligands,
• Structure of RNA fragments composed of CGG, AGG and UGG trinucleotide repeats,
• Conformational analysis of 2’-OMe RNA duplexes,
• Structure elucidation of modified nucleosides with restricted conformation by means of homo- and heteronuclear NMR spectroscopy,
• Elucidating protein dynamics through nuclear relaxation studies.