The interactions of proteins with nucleic acids are varied and complex. If the alternate bases were bound to phosphorylated ribose or dideoxyribose, no doubt some of the proteins would interact without a problem. But I think there would have to be a huge effort to make a system where these new bases could be used to code for proteins or functional RNAs. To make functional novel biomolecules is not currently possible, I think, since we still have such a long way to go to tie structure to function to the point that we could design new functional molecules de novo.
I do see some potential here, for example to create functional bacteria that can only grow using the artificial bases, which do not have the ability to synthesize those bases. They could be used to produce drugs or break down toxins, with far less concern that they could escape into the environment.
Another issue then is one of binding energies and relative affinities, to ensure error-free coding.
Oh yes, and chirality.
Another issue then is one of binding energies and relative affinities, to ensure error-free coding.
Oh yes, and chirality.