Vertical excitation energies for ribose and deoxyribose nucleosides

Vertical excitation energies for DNA and RNA nucleosides are determined with electron structure calculations using the time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) method at the B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) level for nucleoside structures optimized at the same level of theory. The excitation energies and state assignments are verified using B3LYP/aug-cc-pVDZ level calculations. The nature of the first four excited states of the nucleosides are studied and compared with those of isolated bases. The lowest npi* and pipi* transitions in the nucleoside remain localized on the aromatic rings of the base moiety. New low-energy npi* and pisigma* transitions are introduced in the nucleosides as a result of bonding to the ribose and deoxyribose molecules. The effect on the low-lying excited state transitions of the binding to phosphate groups at the 5'- and 3',5'-hydroxyl sites of the uracil ribose nucleoside are also studied. Some implications of these calculations on the de-excitation dynamics of nucleic acids are discussed.     

Chemoenzymatic preparation of nucleosides from furanoses

Chemoenzymatic preparation of ribose, deoxyribose and arabinose 5-phosphates was accomplished. These compounds were tested as starting materials in the enzymatic preparation of natural and modified purine and pyrimidine nucleosides, using an overexpressed Escherichia coli phosphopentomutase.     

Correlation of the C-1′ chemical shifts with the vicinal spin-spin coupling constants of the H-1′ and H-2′ protons in nucleosides. II. 2′-, 3′-, and 5′-O-substituted nucleosides

The existence of a correlation has been established for pyrimidine but not for purine, nucleosides. It is suggested that the change in the chemical shift of the anomeric carbon is a consequence of 1,2-eclipsing interaction between O-2′ and N-1′ in the S type of conformation of the ribose ring. Possible reason for the absence of a correlation in the case of purine nucleosides are discussed. It is shown that the chemical shift of the anomeric carbon can be used in the conformational analysis of the ribose rings of pyrimidine nucleosides.     

Interaction of low-energy electrons with the purine bases, nucleosides, and nucleotides of DNA

The authors report results from computational studies of the interaction of low-energy electrons with the purine bases of DNA, adenine and guanine, as well as with the associated nucleosides, deoxyadenosine and deoxyguanosine, and the nucleotide deoxyadenosine monophosphate. Their calculations focus on the characterization of the pi* shape resonances associated with the bases and also provide general information on the scattering of slow electrons by these targets. Results are obtained for adenine and guanine both with and without inclusion of polarization effects, and the resonance energy shifts observed due to polarization are used to predict pi* resonance energies in associated nucleosides and nucleotides, for which static-exchange calculations were carried out. They observe slight shifts between the resonance energies in the isolated bases and those in the nucleosides.     

Determination of redox potentials for the Watson-Crick base pairs, DNA nucleosides, and relevant nucleoside analogues

Redox potentials for the DNA nucleobases and nucleosides, various relevant nucleoside analogues, Watson-Crick base pairs, and seven organic dyes are presented based on DFT/B3LYP/6-31++G(d,p) and B3YLP/6-311+G(2df,p)//B3LYP/6-31+G* levels of calculations. The values are determined from an experimentally calibrated set of equations that correlate the vertical ionization (electron affinity) energy of 20 organic molecules with their experimental reversible oxidation (reduction) potential. Our results are in good agreement with those estimated experimentally for the DNA nucleosides in acetonitrile solutions (Seidel et al. J. Phys. Chem. 1996, 100, 5541). We have found that nucleosides with anti conformation exhibit lower oxidation potentials than the corresponding syn conformers. The lowering in the oxidation potential is due to the formation of an intramolecular hydrogen bonding interaction between the 5'-OH group of the sugar and the N3 of the purine bases or C2=O of the pyrimidine bases in the syn conformation. Pairing of adenine or guanine with its complementary pyrimidine base decreases its oxidation potential by 0.15 or 0.28 V, respectively. The calculated energy difference between the oxidation potential for the G.C base pair and that of the guanine base is in good agreement with the experimental value estimated recently (0.34 V: Caruso, T.; et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2005, 127, 15040). The complete and consistent set of reversible redox values determined in this work for the DNA constituents is expected to be of considerable value to those studying charge and electronic energy transfer in DNA.     

Three-bond sugar-base couplings in purine versus pyrimidine nucleosides: a DFT study of Karplus relationships for (3)J(C2/4-H1') and (3)J(C6/8-H1') in DNA

(3)J(C2/4-H1') and (3)J(C6/8-H1') scalar spin-spin coupling constants have been calculated for deoxyadenosine, deoxyguanosine, deoxycytidine, and deoxythymidine as functions of the glycosidic torsion angle chi by means of density functional theory. Except for deoxythymidine, (3)J(C2/4-H1') depends little on the base type. On the contrary, (3)J(C6/8-H1') follows the usual trans to cis ratio ((3)J(C-H(cis)) < (3)J(C-H(trans))) for purine nucleosides, but reveals the opposite relation ((3)J(C-H(cis)) > (3)J(C-H(trans))) for pyrimidine nucleosides. Our results compare well with the experiment for deoxyguanosine and predict a novel trend in the case of pyrimidine bases for which no NMR results are available in the syn region. A breakdown of the key Fermi contact part of (3)J(C6/8-H1') into MO contributions rationalizes this trend in terms of an unusual coupling mechanism in the syn orientation that is very effective for pyrimidine nucleosides and considerably weaker for purine nucleosides.     

Three-state conical intersections in nucleic acid bases

The involvement of three-state conical intersections in the photophysics and radiationless decay processes of the nucleobases has been investigated using multireference configuration interaction methods. Three-state conical intersections have been located for the pyrimidine base, uracil, and the purine base, adenine. In uracil, a three-state degeneracy between the S(0), S(1), and S(2) states has been located at 6.2 eV above the ground-state minimum energy. This energy is 0.4 eV higher than vertical excitation to S(2) and at least 1.3 eV higher than the two-state conical intersections found previously. In adenine, two different three-state degeneracies between the S(1), S(2), and S(3) states have been located at energies close to the vertical excitation energies. The energetics of these three-state conical intersections suggest they can play a role in a radiationless decay pathway present in adenine. The existence of two different seams of three-state conical intersections indicates that these features are common and complicate the potential energy surfaces of adenine and possibly many other aromatic molecules.     

Bromination at C-5 of Pyrimidine and C-8 of Purine Nucleosides with 1,3-Dibromo-5,5-dimethylhydantoin

Treatment of the protected and unprotected nucleosides with 1,3-dibromo-5,5- dimethylhydantoin in aprotic solvents such as CH(2)Cl(2), CH(3)CN, or DMF effected smooth bromination of uridine and cytidine derivatives at C-5 of pyrimidine rings as well as adenosine and guanosine derivatives at C-8 of purine rings. Addition of Lewis acids such as trimethylsilyl trifluoromethanesulfonate enhanced efficiency of bromination.     

Synthesis of 2'-O-[2-[(N,N-dimethylamino)oxy]ethyl] modified nucleosides and oligonucleotides.

A versatile synthetic route has been developed for the synthesis of 2'-O-[2-[(N,N-dimethylamino)oxy]ethyl] (abbreviated as 2'-O-DMAOE) modified purine and pyrimidine nucleosides and their corresponding nucleoside phosphoramidites and solid supports. To synthesize 2'-O-DMAOE purine nucleosides, the key intermediate B (Scheme 1) was obtained from the 2'-O-allyl purine nucleosides (13a and 15) via oxidative cleavage of the carbon-carbon bond to the corresponding aldehydes followed by reduction. To synthesize pyrimidine nucleosides, opening the 2,2'-anhydro-5-methyluridine 5 with the borate ester of ethylene glycol gave the key intermediate B. The 2'-O-(2-hydroxyethyl) nucleosides were converted, in excellent yield, by a regioselective Mitsunobu reaction, to the corresponding 2'-O-[2-[(1,3-dihydro-1,3-dioxo-2H-isoindol-2-yl)oxy]ethyl] nucleosides (18, 19, and 20). These compounds were subsequently deprotected and converted into the 2'-O-[2-[(methyleneamino)oxy]ethyl] derivatives (22, 23, and 24). Reduction and a second reductive amination with formaldehyde yielded the corresponding 2'-O-[2-[(N,N-dimethylamino)oxy]ethyl] nucleosides (25, 26, and 27). These nucleosides were converted to their 3'-O-phosphoramidites and controlled-pore glass solid supports in excellent overall yield. Using these monomers, modified oligonucleotides containing pyrimidine and purine bases were synthesized with phosphodiester, phosphorothioate, and both linkages (phosphorothioate and phosphodiester) present in the same oligonucleotide as a chimera in high yields. The oligonucleotides were characterized by HPLC, capillary gel electrophoresis, and ESMS. The effect of this modification on the affinity of the oligonucleotides for complementary RNA and on nuclease stability was evaluated. The 2'-O-DMAOE modification enhanced the binding affinity of the oligonucleotides for the complementary RNA (and not for DNA). The modified oligonucleotides that possessed the phosphodiester backbone demonstrated excellent resistance to nuclease with t(1/2) > 24 h.     

Phosphorescence of nucleic acids and DNA components at 77 K

The emission spectra of nucleic acids, pyrimidine and purine nucleotides, nucleosides and bases and a series of pyrimidine derivatives were obtained using UV light excitation in glasses (ethanol and 2:1 mixtures of ethylene glycol and water (EG-H2O); also partly in butyronitrile and 2-methyltetrahydrofuran) at 77 K. The quantum yields of fluorescence phi f and phosphorescence phi p of some 30 compounds are presented; for several substituted uracils they are reported for the first time. The values cover a range from phi f = 0.0002 and phi p = 0.001 for uracil in ethanol to phi f = 0.50 for guanosine in acidic ethanol and phi p = 0.095 for guanosine-5'-monophosphate in EG-H2O (pH 6-7). The phosphorescence lifetime tau p at 77 K ranges from about 0.3 s (uracil moiety) to 3 s (adenine moiety). The measured tau p, phi f and phi p values are compared with those available in the literature.     

Investigation of the influence of intramolecular electrostatic interactions on the conformational equilibrium in pyrimidine nucleosides by the PMR method

The influence of solvents on the PMR spectra of uridine and cytidine has been studied. Because of intramolecular electrostatic interactions (IEIs) between the 2-keto oxygen and the freely rotating 2-hydroxyl, the position of the conformational equilibrium in the pyrimidine nucleosides but not in purine and deoxy nucleosides, depends substantially on the dielectric constant of the solvent and the size of the partial negative charge on the 2-keto oxygen of the base. It has been shown that an increase in the IEI leads to an increase in the 3′-endo (N) population of the ribose ring and to an increased influence of the temperature on the state of the conformational equilibrium.     

Radiolysis and radioracemization of RNA ribonucleosides: implications for the origins of life

The RNA nucleosides, namely adenosine, cytidine, guanosine and uridine were γ-radioyzed in solid state and in vacuo at room temperature to a total dose of 3.2 MGy. Through electronic absorption spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and through polarimetry and optical rotatory dispersion spectroscopy, it was found that the purine-based nucleosides (adenosine and guanosine) show a much higher radiolysis resistance than the pyrimidine-based nucleosides (cytidine and uridine). In an astrochemical/astrobiological context, these results may explain why purine nucleobases are found in practically all carbonaceous chondrite meteorites while the pyrimidine nucleobases are absent or below the detection limits of the current analytical techniques. In the hypothesis that both purines and pyrimidines nucleobases were present in certain bodies at the beginning of the solar system 4.6?×?10⁹ years ago, the radiolysis due to radionuclides decay has destroyed more easily and completely the pyrimidine bases due to their much lower radiolysis resistance than the purine bases.     

Interaction of nucleobases with proflavine on silica surface

The adsorption of purine and pyrimidine nucleobases from aqueous solutions on silica surface modified by preliminary adsorption of proflavine has been studied as depending on pH and adsorbate concentration. It has been shown that the bases interact with proflavine, the molecules of which are attached to neutral silanol groups of silica via hydrogen bonds. The equilibrium constants of the complexation reactions between the bases and adsorbed proflavine have been calculated.     

PRODAN-conjugated DNA: synthesis and photochemical properties

A solvatochromic fluorophore, PRODAN, has been used as a microenvironment-sensitive reporter. Based on the chemistry of PRODAN, we designed and synthesized four novel fluorescent nucleosides, PDNX (X = U, C, A, and G), to which a PRODAN fluorophore was attached at pyrimidine C5 or purine C8. The fluorescent nucleosides sensitively varied the Stokes shift values depending on the orientational polarizability of the solvent. The PDNX incorporated into DNA also changed the Stokes shift values depending on the DNA structure. In particular, the excitation spectrum of the PDNX-containing duplex shifted to a longer wavelength and gave a smaller Stokes shift value when the base opposite PDNX could form a Watson-Crick base pair with PDNX. A lower energy excitation of PDNX-containing DNA resulted in a strong fluorescence emission selective to the Watson-Crick pairing base. This unique photochemical character was applicable to the efficient typing of single-nucleotide polymorphisms of genes.     

CH/pi interactions in DNA and proteins. A theoretical study

A systematic study of the CH/pi interactions of methane with the purine and pyrimidine bases of nucleic acids and with the lateral chains of the four natural aromatic amino acids has been carried out for the first time. The MPWB1K/6-31+G(d,p) method has shown to be adequate for the study of these weak interactions in which dispersion forces play a main role. It has been shown that two different kinds of clusters exist, depending on whether one or two CH bonds point to the aromatic system. The latter one, which we have called bifurcated, is usually more stable. With regard to aromatic amino acids, our calculations agree with experimental data in the fact that tryptophan leads to the strongest interaction, while hystidine leads to the weakest one. In the case of nucleic acid bases, the differences in binding energies are not large. This is specially true for thymine and uracil, showing that these two bases have a similar acceptor character in CH/pi interactions.     

Triple-Helix Formation by Pyrimidine Oligonucleotides Containing Nonnatural Nucleosides with Extended Aromatic Nucleobases: Intercalation from the major groove as a method for recognizing C·G and T · A base pairs

The sequence-specific recognition of double-helical DNA by oligonucleotide-directed triple helix formation is limited primarily to purine tracts. To identify potential lead compounds which are able to extend the sequence repertoire of triple helical complexes, we designed two carbocyclic nucleosides with nucleobases attached via amide bonds. N⁵-[(1R, 2S, 3R, 4R)-3-hydroxy-4-(hydroxymethyl)-2-methoxycyclopentyl]-2-{[(1H-pyrrol-2-yl)carbonyl]-amino}thiazole-5-carboxamide ( L1 ) and 2-benzamido-N⁵-[(1R, 2S, 3R, 4R)-3-hydroxy-4-(hydroxymethyl)-2-methoxycyclopentyl]thiazole-5-carboxamide ( L2 ) were synthesized and incorporated into pyrimidine oligonucleotides. The 2-(trimethylsilyl)ethoxymethyl (SEM) protecting group for the 1H-pyrrole NH was found to be compatible with DNA solid-phase synthesis of pyrimidine Oligonucleotides. By quantitative DNase I footprinting analysis, both nonnatural nucleosides L1 and L2 showed preferential binding of pyrimidine over purine bases: L1 / 2 ·(C·G) ≈ L1 / 2 ·(T · A) > L1 / 2 ·(G·C) ≈ L1 / 2 ·(A · T). Comparison with the previously reported nonnatural nucleosides with extended aromatic nucleobases 1-(2-deoxy-β-D -ribofuranosyl)-4-(3-benzamidophenyl)-imidazole ( D3 ) and N⁴-[6-(benzamido)pyridin-2-yl]-2′-deoxycytidine (^bz M ) suggests that the observed binding selectivity C · G ≈ T · A > G · C ≈ A · T for the nucleoside analogs L1 , L2 , D3 , and ^bz M is derived from sequence-specific intercalation with preferential stacking of their nucleobases over pyrimidine · purine Watson-Crick base pairs.     

Synthesis and antiviral evaluation of 2'-deoxy-2'-C-trifiuoromethyl beta-D-ribonucleoside analogues bearing the five naturally occurring nucleic acid bases

2'-Deoxy-2'-C-trifluoromethyl-beta-D-ribonucleoside derivatives bearing the five naturally occurring acid bases have been synthesized. All these derivatives were prepared by glycosylation reactions of purine and pyrimidine bases with a suitable peracylated 2-deoxy-2-C-trifluoromethyl sugar precursor to afford anomeric mixtures of protected nucleosides. After separation and deprotection, the resulting beta-nucleoside analogues were tested for their activity against HIV, HBV and several RNA viruses. However, none of these compounds showed significant antiviral activity nor cytotoxicity.     

Purine and pyrimidine derivatives from the South China Sea gorgonian Subergorgia suberosa

Three new purine derivatives, namely, 4-caryboxy-5,6-dihydro-4H,8H-pyrimido[1,2,3-cd]purine-8,10(9H)-dione (1), 7,9-dihydro-1-(3-oxobutyl)-1H-purine-6,8-dione (2), and 7-hydro-9-(3-oxobutyl)-1H-purine-6,8-dione (3) together with six known purine and pyrimidine derivatives were isolated from the EtOH/CH(2)Cl(2) extracts of the South China Sea gorgonian Subergorgia suberosa. The structures of 1-3 were determined on the bases of extensive spectroscopic analysis, including 1D and 2D NMR data.