The peptide nucleic acids, efficient tools for molecular diagnosis (Review).

Peptide nucleic acids (PNAs) are synthetic analogs of DNA that hybridize with complementary DNAs or RNAs with high affinity and specificity, essentially because of an uncharged and flexible polyamide backbone. Originally conceived as ligand for the recognition of double stranded DNA, the unique physico-chemical properties of PNAs have led to the development of a variety of research and diagnostic assays. Initially used as antisense and antigene reagents, the more recent applications of PNA have involved their use as molecular hybridization probes. Thus, sensitive and robust PNA-dependent methods have been designed for developing anti-cancer drugs, modulating PCR reactions, detecting genomic mutation or labelling chromosomes in situ.