Emissive 5-Substituted Uridine Analogues -- Fluorescent purine nucleosides and their applications -- Thiazole orange-tethered nucleic acids and ECHO probes for fluorometric detection of nucleic acids -- Synthetic wavelength-shifting fluorescent probes of nucleic acids -- DNA Assisted Multichromophore Assembly -- Polymerase Synthesis of Base-Modified DNA -- Photo-cross-linking Reaction in Nucleic Acids – Chemistry and Applications -- Site-Directed Spin Labeling for EPR Studies of Nucleic Acids -- Non-Covalent Modification of Double Stranded DNA at the Mismatch and Bulged Site -- 2',4'-Bridged Nucleic Acids for Targeting Double-Stranded DNA -- Specific Recognition of Single Nucleotide by Alkylating Oligonucleotides and Sensing of 8-oxoguanine -- Genetic alphabet expansion by unnatural base pair creation and its application to high affinity DNA aptamers.

This book spans diverse aspects of modified nucleic acids, from chemical synthesis and spectroscopy to in vivo applications, and highlights studies on chemical modifications of the backbone and nucleobases. Topics discussed include fluorescent pyrimidine and purine analogs, enzymatic approaches to the preparation of modified nucleic acids, emission and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy for studying nucleic acid structure and dynamics, non-covalent binding of low- and high-MW ligands to nucleic acids and the design of unnatural base pairs. This unique book addresses new developments and is designed for graduate level and professional research purposes.