Chemistry and Biology of Noncanonical Nucleic Acid Structures: From Physicochemical Properties to Therapeutic Applications.

This document is an editorial from the International Journal of Molecular Sciences titled "Chemistry and Biology of Noncanonical Nucleic Acid Structures: From Physicochemical Properties to Therapeutic Applications." The editorial aims to highlight the chemistry and biology of noncanonical nucleic acid structures, focusing on their structure, stability, and interactions with proteins and ligands. Noncanonical structures, such as triplex, G-quadruplex, and i-motif species, can form in important genomic regions and play key roles in biological processes, including oncogene expression and telomere maintenance. The investigations published in this special issue cover various aspects, including the potential role of noncanonical structures in transcription regulation, the selective targeting of cancer-related G-quadruplex structures, and the development of innovative analytical methods for the detection of viral RNA. The document concludes by emphasizing the potential of noncanonical nucleic acids for therapeutic applications and the need for further research in this field. [Extracted from the article]