Thesis advisor: Larry W. McLaughlin / Thesis advisor: Mary F. Roberts / Nucleic Acids are unique biopolymers capable of encoding and transferring genetic information from one generation to the next for every form of life. This fascinating property has made them the topic of intense research from a variety of aspects. Some researchers try to understand how life might have started. Some try to elucidate how the whole process works. Some try to use the properties of nucleic acids as a tool for various purposes. The continuous effort over more than a century explored a lot about the structures and functions of nucleic acids. There is a lot to be discovered yet. This work began with the design and development of a new class of nucleoside analogue with the goal to study their ability to bind nucleic acids. The ongoing research will establish their application as therapeutics and as biomolecular tools. Along the way significant effort went into preparing these analogues. New methodology was developed to address some of the unanswered synthetic problems of nucleoside chemistry. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2012. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Chemistry.