Artificial DNA-based Enzyme Mimics

A team from Wageningen and Jerusalem have discovered a new method to imitate an enzymatic oxidation reaction using DNA. By combining a catalytically active inorganic complex with a DNA-based aptamer for dopamine, the team discovered catalysts that show enzyme-like saturation kinetics in the oxidation of dopamine to aminochrome. By replacing the metal-ion in the catalyst, the activity of the so-called nucleoapzyme was improved even further. Furthermore, it was shown that positioning of the complex at various positions of the aptamer sequence provide another means to control the activity. This breakthrough is recently described by a publication in ACS Catalysis.