In vivo Optical Control of Gene-Silencing in Japanese Medaka Fish Embryos
The siRNA oligonucleotide duplex inherent to biology, functions by binding and cleaving mRNA, a process known as the RNA interference (RNAi) pathway. Our lab has taken an interest in designing tetrafluorinated azobenzene, which has the unique ability to switch conformation from a trans to cis state when exposed to light. The ortho-functionalized, tetrafluorinated azobenzene was integrated into siRNAs via phophoramidite chemistry to generate a class of photoswitchable tetrafluorinated azobenzene-functionalized siRNAs (F-siRNAs). These F-siRNAs retained the ability to photoisomerize from an active trans to an inactive cis state through blue and green light, respectively, in Japanese Medaka embryos.
