Call for papers: Special Collection on Biophysical Aspects of Nucleic Acid Therapeutics    

Guest edited by Dr Afaf El-Sagheer and Professor Tom Brown  

Nucleic acid-based drugs have the potential to treat diseases for which no therapies currently exist. The field is advancing rapidly, and this is exemplified by the recent approval of around 20 therapeutic oligonucleotides, mRNA vaccines and CRISPR Cas systems, with many others in clinical trials. However, there are still significant limitations to overcome and many fundamental questions to be answered, particularly with respect to the following: targeting and delivery of nucleic acids to specific organs and cell types, controlling mRNA expression, and achieving precise and efficient in vivo gene editing. Hence continued research on new DNA and RNA analogues and the relationship between their physical and biological properties is essential.

This special issue is a collection of perspective articles highlighting how chemical synthesis, computational chemistry, modelling, biophysical and structural techniques can improve our understanding of the properties of nucleic acids, answer key questions and open new areas of research.  We are looking for high quality science and the creativity that you bring to the field.

Topics

We are interested in all aspects of nucleic acids that are relevant to therapeutics including (but not restricted to) theoretical studies, RNA structure and folding, interactions of nucleic acids with ligands, nucleic acids-protein interactions, biophysical and biological studies on chemically modified nucleic acids, delivery of all types of nucleic acids to their sites of action and targeting specific cell types.

The Editorial Board would like to cordially invite you to contribute a paper to this collection.

QRB Discovery publishes new developments in the field of experimental and computational biophysics. Articles report on significant physical observations of relevance to biological systems, both experimental and theoretical, that may point towards an exciting direction, rather than the presentation of a traditional comprehensive study.

Your paper will go through peer review and we encourage you to contact Alison Paskins (alison.paskins@cambridge.org) if you want to discuss your submission. 

Accepted articles will be promoted through social media. For more information on how to submit see here and submit your manuscript here.

Learn more: cambridge.org/qrd

Submission deadline: 30th September 2024

Submit your paper: ScholarOne Manuscripts (manuscriptcentral.com)

Contact us: alison.paskins@cambridge.org

Follow us: @Biophysics_CUP