A nucleic acid capture reagent which comprises one or more molecules that are capable of intercalation into nucleic acids and are attached to a solid support via a molecular linker. This capture reagent is useful for the separation and isolation of nucleic acids from complex unpurified biological solutions such as serum, sputum, blood, and urine. The resulting capture reagent-nucleic acid complexes are easily isolated from the sample solution by mechanical or magnetic means and the bound nucleic...

Polypeptides, in particular the polypeptide of formula I: and analogues thereof which possess inhibitory activity against human leukocyte elastase. The polypeptides may be obtained by expression using plasmidic expression systems in hosts such as E. Coli and yeast, the polypeptide of formula I being also obtainable from psoriatic plaques.

An improved method for isolating and purifying nucleic acid from cell culture media contemplating adding to resuspended cell solutions a lysing solution and neutralizing/deproteinating agent without mechanical mixing, followed by centrifugation to partially pellet cellular debris, mixing the solution to complete the reaction, and additional centrifugation to fully pellet the debris.

For the sequencing of nucleic acids by enzymatic extension of an oligonucleotide primer in the presence of a polymerase, the four deoxyribonucleoside triphosphates, one of the four dideoxynucleoside triphosphates and the nucleic acid to be sequenced as template in each of four different preparations, labelling of the nucleic acid fragments which form and which are dependent on the dideoxynucleoside triphosphate used, separation by gel electrophoresis of the preparations containing the fragments ...

Modified nucleotides are provided which have the structure ##STR1## wherein R.sup.1 is a reactive group derivatizable with a detectable label, R.sup.2 is an optional linking moiety including an amide, thioether or disulfide linkage or a combination thereof, R.sup.3 is hydrogen, methyl, bromine, fluorine or iodine, R.sup.4 is hydrogen, an acid-sensitive, base-stable blocking group of an acyl capping group, R.sup.5 is hydrogen or a phosphorus derivative, R.sup.6 is H, OH, or OR where R is a protec...

A method for amplifying a nucleic acid molecule which employs a proto-promoter-containing nucleic acid molecule having a blocked 3' terminus. The invention also includes kits containing reagents for conducting the method.

A method of detecting point mutation in nucleic acids is described which comprises hybridizing a piece of control DNA or RNA without mutations with a piece of test DNA or RNA generally corresponding to the test DNA or RNA but possibly with mutations to produce a heteroduplex, treating the heteroduplex with hydroxylamine or osmium tetroxide and with piperidine, and subjecting the resulting material to separation treatment. Individual strands of both senses of control nucleic acid can be labelled ...

Pyridinone or pyrimidinone nucleoside bases containing fused aromatic polycyclic rings are provided. These polycyclic nucleosides are incorporated into oligonucleotides and hybridized to complementary nucleic acid. Fluorescence spectroscopy and thermal denaturation profiles provided evidence that the polycyclic base is intercalated into the resulting duplex. The fused polycyclic ring systems optionally are substituted with reactive species which inactivate complementary nucleic acids. The oligon...

Amplification of nucleic acids is performed by incubating in a polymerization vessel a reaction mixture which contains in a suitable buffer solution, one or several single-stranded target nucleic acids, suitable primers, deoxyribouncleoside triphosphates and a polymerase. After a sufficient time for polymerication to occur, the reaction mixture is transferred into another vessel for the denaturation of the nucleic acids into single stranded nucleic acids. After denaturation, the reaction mixture...

An assay for polynucleotides employing total internal reflection of excitation radiation at a coating bonded to the surface of an optically conductive glass cell. The coating initially includes single-stranded polynucleotides coupled to individual attachment sites on the surface of the cell, such polynucleotides being complementary, at least in part to the single-stranded form of the polynucleotide that is being assayed. Each molecule of the coupled polynucleotide is connected to the cell surfac...