Oxy-peptide nucleic acid with a pyrrolidine ring that is configurationally optimized for hybridization with DNA.

Four stereoisomers of oxy-peptide nucleic acids containing ether linkages in the main chain and conformationally-restricted pyrrolidine rings (pyrrolidine-based oxy-PNA = POPNA) were newly synthesized and investigated for binding to DNA. cis-l-POPNA with 9 adenine bases formed the most stable hybrid with dT(9). The POPNA showed high sequence specificity similar to that of the Nielsen-type PNA and sharper melting behavior in hybridization with DNA than the Nielsen-type PNA.