Maxim D. Frank-Kamenetskii, Ph.D.

Professor, Biomedical Engineering

M.Sc., Ph.D., Biophysics, Moscow Physical-Technical Institute
Sc.D. (IVth degree), Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Institute of Chemical Physics, USSR Academy of Sciences, Moscow

Phone: (617) 353-8498
Fax: (617) 353-8501
Email: mfk@bu.edu
Office: SLB 208
Office hours: By appointment

Research Interests

DNA structures; DNA topology; DNA functioning, PNA (peptide nucleic acid).

Current Research

Dr. Frank-Kamenetskii’s research is focused on theoretical and experimental studies of various DNA structures and their relations to DNA functioning in the cell. He and his co-workers discovered a novel DNA structure, triplex H-DNA, and elaborated a comprehensive theoretical approach to treat DNA topology, namely, knots and supercoils. His current interests include the development of new approaches to sequence-specific recognition of duplex DNA using Peptide Nucleic Acid (PNA), a synthetic DNA analogue.

Selected Recent Publications

Singer A., Wanunu M., Morrison W., Kuhn H., Frank-Kamenetskii M.D., Meller A. “Nanopore-based sequence-specific detection of duplex DNA for genomic profiling” Nano Letters. 10: 738-742 (2010)

Kuhn H., Frank-Kamenetskii M.D. “Labeling of Unique Sequences in Double-Stranded DNA at Sites of Vicinal Nicks Generated by Nicking Endonucleases” Nucl. Acids Res. 36: e40 (2008)

Smolina I., Lee C., Frank-Kamenetskii M.D. “Detection of Low Copy Genomic DNA Sequences in Individual Bacterial Cells Using PNA-Assisted Rolling Circle Amplification and Fluorescence in situ Hybridization” Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 73: 2324-2328 (2007)

Yakovchuk, P., Protozanova, E., Frank-Kamenetskii M.D. “Base-Stacking and Base-Pairing Contributions into Thermal Stability of the DNA Double Helix” Nucl. Acids Res. 34: 564-574 (2006)

Krueger, A., Protozanova, E., Frank-Kamenetskii M.D. “Sequence-Dependent Base Pair Opening in DNA Double Helix” Biophys. J. 90: 3091-3099 (2006)

Liang X., Kuhn H., Frank-Kamenetskii M.D. “Monitoring Single-Stranded DNA Secondary Structure Formation by Determining the Topological State of DNA Catenanes” Biophys. J. 90: 2877-2889 (2006)

Smolina I.V., Demidov V.V., Soldatenkov V., Chasovskikh S., Frank-Kamenetskii M.D. “End Invasion of Peptide Nucleic Acids (PNAs) with Mixed Base Composition into Linear DNA Duplexes” Nucl. Acids Res. 33: e146 (2005)

Demidov, V.V., Frank-Kamenetskii, M.D. “Two Sides of the Coin: Affinity and Specificity of Nucleic Acid Interactions” Trends in Biochem. Sci. 29: 62-71 (2004)

Smolina, I.V., Demidov, V.V., Frank-Kamenetskii, M.D. “Pausing of DNA Polymerase on Duplex DNA Templates Due to Ligand Binding in vitro” J. Mol. Biol. 326: 1113-1125 (2003)

Protozanova, E., Demidov, V.V., Nielsen, P.E., Frank-Kamenetskii, M.D. “Pseudocomplimentary PNAs as Selective Modifiers of Protein Activity on Duplex DNA: The Case of Type II Restriction Enzymes” Nucl. Acids Res. 31: 3929-3935 (2003)

Demidov V.V., Protozanova, E., Izvolsky, K.I., Price, C., Nielsen, P.E., Frank-Kamenetskii, M.D. “Kinetics and Mechanism of the Pseudocomplimentary PNAs Strand Invasion into Duplex DNA” Proc. Natl. Acad. Scie. USA 99: 5953-5958 (2002)

Protozanova, E., Demidov, V.V., Soldatenkov, V., Chasovskikh, S., Frank-Kamenetskii, M.D. “Tailoring the Activity of Restriction Endonuclease P1eI by PNA-Indiced DNA Looping” EMBO Reports 3: 956-961 (2002)

Kuhn H., Demidov V.V., Frank-Kamenetskii, M.D. “Rolling-Circle Amplification Under Topological Constraints” Nucl. Acids Res. 30: 574-580 (2002)