functional group covalently bonds to the second functional group application_number US 25154205 A description small macrocyclic chelators are used either to prevent rna from being translated into protein gene silencing or as anti viral anti bacterial agents unlike other proposed metal chelator systems for the sequence specific hydrolysis of dna or rna that make use of the known ability of these metal chelator complexes to hydrolyze the phosphodiester bonds of viral bacterial nucleic acids the present invention makes use of properties such as but not limited to kinetic inertness with the right choice of metal ion and polyamine nucleotide interactions with appropriate choice of chelators these systems can be used by themselves for non specific gene silencing or for general viral and bacterial decontamination e g of sensitive equipment surfaces in addition when nucleotide binding groups such as hybridization capable oligonucleotides or other nucleotide binding groups e g peptide nucleic acids modified nucleic acids triple helix formers or nucleotide binding proteins and drugs are attached to these complexes the resulting system will be able to silence specific genes or attack specific viruses and bacteria thus under these circumstances the systems can behave like u201c artificial nucleases u201d except they can recognize much.