DNA has been known to be the cellular target for many cytotoxic anticancer agents for several decades. The knowledge of its structure in atomic detail and the ease with which DNA fragments (both synthetic oligonucleotides and natural sequences) can be prepared and manipulated has aided the design of compounds that bind to it with improved sel- tivity. On the basis of this information, new generations of sequence reading compounds (including triplex forming oligonucleotides and minor groove binding ligands) have been prepared, which have the potential for targeting specifc DNA sequences as...

DNA has been known to be the cellular target for many cytotoxic anticancer agents for several decades. The knowledge of its structure in atomic detail and the ease with which DNA fragments (both synthetic oligonucleotides and natural sequences) can be prepared and manipulated has aided the design of compounds that bind to it with improved sel- tivity. On the basis of this information, new generations of sequence reading compounds (including triplex forming oligonucleotides and minor groove binding ligands) have been prepared, which have the potential for targeting specifc DNA sequences as...