On-off multivalent recognition: Degradable dendrons for temporary high-affinity DNA binding

Abstract

Now you bind it - now you don't! Chemical degradation of a dendritic scaffold allows multivalent interactions with DNA to be switched off as the multivalent array of ligands breaks down into smaller fragments, offering an approach by which a molecule can be temporarily endowed with high affinity for a biological target - an important concept in the development of new synthetic systems to intervene in biological pathways. © 2009 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.