5954 J. Am. Chem. Soc., Vol. 123, No. 25, 2001
Shimizu et al.
trichloroacetate (1.2 g, 2.9 mmol) and triethylamine (0.4 mL) were
added. The reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature for 20 h.
The resulting mixture was then evaporated in vacuo to give a solid,
which was thoroughly washed with cold water. Recrystallization of
the raw product from a 1:1 mixture of chloroform and methanol (v/v)
gave pentachlorophenyl 3-(2, 4-dihydroxy-5-methylpyrimidine-1-yl)-
propionate as a colorless needle crystal (0.4 g, yield 36%). This activated
ester (0.3 g, 0.7 mmol) and 1,10-diaminodecane (0.06 g, 0.35 mmol)
were then dissolved in DMF (20 mL), and the mixture was stirred at
room temperature overnight. The reaction mixture was then evaporated
in vacuo to give a solid, which was thoroughly washed with acetone.
Purification by silica gel column chromatography (eluent: chloroform/
methanol ) 2/1, v/v) gave T-10-T as a white powder (0.09 g, 50%):
mp 210.0-212.5 °C; TLC (silica gel, 1:1 CHCl3/MeOH) Rf ) 0.8; 1H
NMR (600 MHz, DMSO-d6, 25 °C) δ 1.20-1.35 (m, 16H, -CH2-),
1.71 (s, 6H, CH3-5), 2.41 (t, J ) 6.6 Hz, 4H, -CH2CH2CONH-), 3.00
(dt, J ) 6.6, 6.6 and 7.2 Hz, 4H, -CONHCH2-), 3.81 (t, J ) 6.6 Hz,
4H, -CH2CH2CONH-), 7.37 (s, 2H, H-6), 7.92 (t, J ) 5.4 Hz, 2H,
-CONH-), 11.2 (s, 2H, NH-3). Anal. Calcd for C26H40N6O6: C, 58.63;
H, 7.57; N, 15.78. Found: C, 58.77; H, 7.82; N, 15.89.
to compensate weak van der Waals forces between the alkyl
chains. As a result, strong interlayer interaction between the
monolayers might have resulted in 3-D crystalline solids. Thus,
the self-assembled morphologies, such as solids, fibers, and
double-helical ropes, are found to be strongly dependent on the
force strength of the internucleobase interaction. We should note
here that four arrangements of the base pairs including Watson-
Crick41 and Hoogsteen types42 are possible for the configuration
of the adenine-thymine base pairs. At present we have,
however, no definite evidence for the lateral or vertical
arrangement of the individual polymolecular chains.
In summary, spontaneous homoassembly of the 1,ω-thymine
bolaamphiphile T-10-T produced unprecedented double-helical
ropes. The formation may be triggered by trace amounts of
photodimerization products within the assemblies. Spontaneous
heteroassembly of the complementary 1,ω-thymine and -adenine
components and homoassembly of the heteroditopic homologues
yielded stable nanofibers instead of the helical ropes. Inter-
nucleobase interaction between the resultant monolayers domi-
nated a variety of self-assembled morphologies. The linear amide
hydrogen bond chain, like a polynucleotide chain within DNA,
was found to stabilize the base stacking and their complementary
double hydrogen bonds by fixing them in the internal hydro-
phobic environment.
N,N′-Bis[3-(6-aminopurine-9-yl)propionyl]1,10-diaminodecane (A-
10-A). Into a solution of 9-(2-carboxyethyl)adenine (0.4 g, 1.9 mmol)
and p-nitrophenol (0.3 g, 2.2 mmol) in pyridine (20 mL), p-nitrophenyl
trifluoroacetate (2.0 g, 8.5 mmol) was added with stirring. The reaction
mixture was then stirred at 50 °C for 2 h and then evaporated in vacuo.
Solid residues obtained were dissolved in a small amount of chloroform
and reprecipitated by addition of diethyl ether. Further reprecipitation
from a 1:1 mixture of chloroform and diethyl ether gave p-nitrophenyl
3-(6-trifluoroacetoamidopurine-9-yl)propionate as a white powder (0.6
g, yield 75%). Into a solution of this material (0.5 g, 1.25 mmol) in
DMF (20 mL), 1, 10-diaminododecane (0.1 g, 0.58 mmol) and
imidazole (0.1 g, 1.47 mmol) were added. The mixture was stirred at
room temperature for 3 days. The resultant mixture was then evaporated
in vacuo to give a raw product, which was thoroughly washed with
diethyl ether. Purification by silica gel column chromatography
(eluent: CHCl3/MeOH ) 9/1-4/1, v/v, gradient) afforded N, N′-bis-
[3-(6-trifluoroacetoamidopurine-9-yl)propionyl]1,10-diaminodecane (0.1
g, 40%). Deprotection of trifluroacetyl group was carried out by stirring
this material in an queous methanolic solution (H2O/MeOH ) 2/5, v/v,
20 mL) of potassium carbonate (7 wt %) overnight. Evaporation of
the solvent gave a solid residue which was thoroughly washed with
water. Reprecipitation from a 1:1 mixture of ethanol and water (v/v)
afforded A-10-A as a white powder (0.07 g, 93%): mp 220.1-221.5
Experimental Section
Materials and General Methods. The nucleobases thymine (>98%)
and adenine (>99%) were purchased from Merck and were used as
received. 1-(2-Carboxyethyl)thymine and 9-(2-carboxyethyl)adenine
were synthesized according to a previously described method.43 Other
chemicals were commercially available high-purity grades and were
used without further purification. The structures of intermediates and
the final products were confirmed by FT-IR, NMR spectroscopy, and
1
elemental analysis. H NMR spectra were recorded on a JEOL 600
spectrometer using tetramethylsilane as an internal standard. For the
FT-IR measurement, a Jasco FT-IR-620 (resolution 4 cm-1) was used.
The UV absorption spectra were recorded at 25 °C on a Hitachi U-3300
spectrometer. CD measurement was performed using a Jasco J-725
spectrometer (sensitivity 0.005°, cell length 5 and 10 mm, temperature
25-70 °C).
1
°C; TLC (silica gel, 1:1 CHCl3/methanol) Rf ) 0.5; H NMR (600
Synthesis of 1,ω-Nucleobase-Appended Bolaamphiphiles. The
homoditopic 1,ω-thymine bolaamphiphiles T-n-T (n ) 10, 11, 12) were
prepared via the coupling of pentachlorophenyl ester of 1-(2-carboxy-
ethyl)thymine with the corresponding long-chain diamines. Similarly,
the 1,ω-adenine bolaamphiphiles A-n-A (n ) 10, 11, 12) were
synthesized via the coupling of p-nitrophenyl ester of 6-trifluoroacety-
lated 9-(2-carboxyethyl)adenine with the corresponding diamines. On
the other hand, the 1,ω-(thymine,amine) bolaamphiphiles T-n-NH2 (n
) 10, 11, 12) were prepared via the coupling of pentachlorophenyl
ester of 1-(2-carboxyethyl)thymine with an excess amount of corre-
sponding long-chain diamines (10 equiv). Consequently, the heterodi-
topic T-n-A bolaamphiphiles (n ) 10, 11, 12) were obtainable by the
coupling of T-n-NH2 with p-nitrophenyl ester of 6-trifluoroacetylated
9-(2-carboxyethyl)adenine. All the final products were then purified
by silica gel column chromatography (Yamazen medium-pressure
column chromatography system YFLC-6004-FC-GR) to yield white
solids. A typical synthetic procedure and related analytical data are as
follows.
MHz, DMSO-d6, 25 °C) δ 1.17-1.30 (m, 16H, -CH2-), 2.65 (t, J )
6.6 Hz, 4H, -CH2CH2CONH-), 2.97 (dt, J ) 6.0, 6.0, and 7.2 Hz,
4H, -CONHCH2-), 4.33 (t, J ) 6.6 Hz, 4H, -CH2CH2CONH-), 7.21
(s, 4H, NH2-6), 7.88 (t, J ) 5.4 Hz, 2H, -CONH-), 7.98 (s, 2H, H-8),
8.13 (s, 2H, H-2). Anal. Calcd for C26H38N12O2: C, 57.61; H, 6.96; N,
30.52. Found: C, 57.55; H, 7.07; N, 30.49.
N-[3-(2,4-Dihydroxy-5-methylpyrimidine-1-yl)propionyl], N′-[3-
(6-aminopurine-9-yl)propionyl]1,10-diaminodecane (T-10-A). The
thymine carboxyethyl derivative, pentachlorophenyl 3-(2, 4-dihydroxy-
5-methylpyrimidine-1-yl)propionate (0.3 g, 0.7 mmol), and 1, 10-
diaminodecane (1.20 g, 7.0 mmol) were then dissolved in DMF (20
mL), and the mixture was stirred at room temperature overnight. The
reaction mixture was then evaporated in vacuo to give a solid, which
was thoroughly washed with acetone. Purification by silica gel column
chromatography (eluent: chloroform/methanol ) 2/1, v/v) gave T-10-
NH2 as a white powder (0.09 g, 50%). Into a solution of p-nitrophenyl
3-(6-trifluoroacetoamidopurine-9-yl)propionate (0.5 g, 1.25 mmol) in
DMF (20 mL), T-10-NH2 (0.1 g, 0.58 mmol) and imidazole (0.1 g,
1.47 mmol) were added. The mixture was stirred at room temperature
for 3 days. The resultant mixture was then evaporated in vacuo to give
a raw product, which was thoroughly washed with diethyl ether.
Purification by silica gel column chromatography (eluent: CHCl3/
MeOH ) 9/1∼4/1, v/v, gradient) afforded N-[3-(2,4-dihydroxy-5-
methylpyrimidine-1-yl)propionyl]-N′-[3-(6-aminopurine-9-yl)-
propionyl]1,n-diaminodecane (0.1 g, 40%): mp 206.0-206.7 °C; TLC
(silica gel, 1:1 CHCl3/MeOH) Rf ) 0.6; 1H NMR (600 MHz, DMSO-
d6, 25 °C) δ 1.20-1.32 (m, 16H, -CH2-), 1.71 (s, 3H, Thy-CH3-5),
N,N′-Bis[3-(2,4-dihydroxy-5-methylpyrimidine-1-yl)propionyl]-
1,10-diaminodecane (T-10-T). Into a solution of 1-(2-carboxyethyl)-
thymine (0.5 g, 2.6 mmol) in DMF (10 mL), pentachlorophenyl
(40) (a) Kogiso, M,; Hanada, T.; Yase, K.; Shimizu, T. Chem. Commun.
1998, 1791-1792. (b) Kogiso, M.; Okada, Y.; Hanada, T.; Yase, K.;
Shimizu, T. Biochim. Biophys. Acta 2000, 1475, 346-352.
(41) Seeman, N. C.; Rosenberg, J. M.; Suddath, F. L.; Kim, J. J. P.;
Rich, A. J. Mol. Biol. 1976, 104, 109-144.
(42) Hoogsteen, K. Acta Crystallogr. 1963, 16, 907-916.
(43) Kondo, K.; Sato, T.; Takemoto, K. Chem. Lett. 1973, 967-968.