August 31, 2020 -- Arrakis Therapeutics is touting the publication of a new paper that demonstrates the capabilities of its proprietary Photoaffinity Evaluation of RNA Ligation-sequencing (PEARL-seq) technology for the systemic identification of binding sites in RNA molecules as a method to facilitate the discovery of RNA-targeted small molecule medicines. The research was published in the American Chemical Society's ACS Chemical Biology.
The company's PEARL-seq utilizes photoaffinity labeling of RNA in combination with next-generation sequencing and a dedicated bioinformatic analysis pipeline. The data shows that the PEARL-seq platform was able to identify ligand binding sites within a model aptamer RNA and identify potential off-target binding interactions.
The platform -- in combination with conventional RNA structure probing methods -- can be used to generate and refine 2D and 3D structures of RNA-small molecule complexes to facilitate the rational design of RNA-targeted small molecule therapeutics, according to the company.