Delivery inside the cells is essential for practical application of antisense technologies. The hybrid locked nucleic acid (LNA)/DNA CAAGTACTGTTCCACCA (LNA residues are underlined) was labeled by conjugation to Alexa Fluor 488 (fLNA/DNA) and tested to determine its ability to penetrate Escherichia coli cells and reach the cytoplasm. Flow cytometry analysis showed that the fLNA/DNA was associated with 14% of cells from a stationary phase culture, while association with a labeled isosequential oligodeoxynucleotide was negligible. Laser scanning confocal microscopy confirmed that the fLNA/DNA was located inside the cytoplasm.
Keywords: drug discovery; drug resistance; gene therapy; microbiology; nucleic acids.