1034530-01-2Relevant academic research and scientific papers
Metal-mediated base pairing within the simplified nucleic acid GNA
Schlegel, Mark K.,Zhang, Lilu,Pagano, Nicholas,Meggers, Eric
supporting information; experimental part, p. 476 - 482 (2009/07/18)
Hydroxypyridone and pyridopurine homo- and hetero-base pairs have been investigated in the context of duplex GNA (glycol nucleic acid). Phosphoramidites for automated GNA solid phase synthesis were synthesized economically in a few steps starting from com
Duplex structure of a minimal nucleic acid
Schlegel, Mark K.,Essen, Lars-Oliver,Meggers, Eric
supporting information; experimental part, p. 8158 - 8159 (2009/02/02)
The crystal structure of an 8-mer (S)-GNA duplex is presented. As a tool for phasing, the anomalous diffraction of two copper(II) ions within two artificial metallo-base pairs was employed. The duplex structure confirms a canonical Watson-Crick base pairing scheme of GNA with antiparallel strands. The duplex secondary structure is distinct from canonical A- and B-form nucleic acids and can be described as a right-handed helical ribbon wrapped around the helix axis, resulting in a large hollow core. Most intriguingly, neighboring base pairs slide strongly against each other, resulting in extensive interstrand base-base hydrophobic interactions along with unusual hydrophobic intrastrand interactions of nucleobases with their backbone. These results reveal how a minimal nucleic acid backbone can support highly stable Watson-Crick-like duplex formation. Copyright
