The 5‐Methylisocytosine β‐D‐Ribopyranosyl (4′ → 2′)‐Oligonucleotide

In the context of Eschenmoser's work on pyranosyl‐RNA (‘p‐RNA’), we investigated the synthesis and base‐pairing properties of the 5‐methylisocytidine derivative. The previously determined clear‐cut restrictions of base‐pairing modes of p‐RNA had led to the expectation that a 5‐methylisocytosine β‐D ‐ribopyranosyl (= D ‐pr(^MeisoC)) based (4′ → 2′)‐oligonucleotide would pair inter alia with D ‐pr(isoG) and L ‐pr(G) based oligonucleotides (D ‐pr and L ‐pr = pyranose form of D ‐ and L ‐ribose, resp.). Remarkably, we could not observe pairing with the D ‐pr(isoG) oligonucleotide but only with the L ‐pr(G) oligonucleotide. Our interpretation concludes that this – at first hand surprising – observation is caused by a change in the nucleosidic torsion angle specific for isoC.     

Evaluation of Novel Third‐Strand Bases for the Recognition of a C⋅G Base Pair in the Parallel DNA Triple‐Helical Binding Motif

We describe the synthesis and the incorporation into oligonucleotides of the novel nucleoside building blocks 9, 10 , and 16 , carrying purine‐like double H‐bond‐acceptor bases. These base‐modified nucleosides were conceived to recognize selectively a cytosine⋅guanine (C⋅G) inversion site within a homopurine⋅homopyrimidine DNA duplex, when constituent of a DNA third strand designed to bind in the parallel binding motif. While building block 16 turned out to be incompatible with standard oligonucleotide‐synthesis conditions, UV/triplex melting experiments with third‐strand 15‐mers containing β‐D ‐nucleoside 6 (from 9 ) showed that recognition of the four natural Watson‐Crick base pairs follows the order G⋅C≈C⋅G>A⋅T>T⋅A. The recognition is sequence‐context sensitive, and G⋅C or C⋅G recognition does not involve protonated species of β‐D ‐nucleoside 6 . The data obtained fit (but do not prove) a structural model for C⋅G recognition via one conventional and one C−H⋅⋅⋅O H‐bond. The unexpected G⋅C recognition is best explained by third‐strand base intercalation. A comparison of the triplex binding properties of these new bases with those of 4‐deoxothymine (5‐methylpyrimidine‐2(1H)‐one, ^{4 H}T), previously shown to be C⋅G selective but energetically weak, is also described.     

Synthesis of 2′-Deoxyisoguanosine 5′-Triphosphate and 2′-Deoxy-5-methylisocytidine 5′-Triphosphate

The syntheses of the 5′-triphosphates of 2′-deoxyisoguanosine (=p₃isoG_d) and 2′-deoxy-5-methylisocytidine (=p₃me⁵isoC_d), two new bases for the genetic alphabet, are described. The triphosphates were synthesized from the corresponding nucleosides using a transient-protection procedure. The introduction of a methyl group at the 5-position of 2′-deoxyisocytidine remarkably improved the stability of the triphosphate. Characterization of the triphosphates included enzymatic incorporation opposite the complementary base in a template oligonucleotide.     

Chirale Halbsandwich‐Pentamethylcyclopentadienyl‐Rhodium(III)‐ und Iridium(III)‐Komplexe mit Schiff‐Basen aus Salicylaldehyd und α‐Aminosäureestern [1]

Chiral Half‐sandwich Pentamethylcyclopentadienyl Rhodium(III) and Iridium(III) Complexes with Schiff Bases from Salicylaldehyde and α‐Amino Acid Esters [1] A series of diastereoisomeric half‐sandwich complexes with Schiff bases from salicylaldehyde and L‐α‐amino acid esters including chiral metal atoms, [(η⁵‐C₅H₅)(Cl)M(N,O‐Schiff base)], has been obtained from chloro bridged complexes [(η⁵‐C₅Me₅)(Cl)M(μ‐Cl)]₂ (M = Rh, Ir). Abstraction of chloride from these complexes with Ag[BF₄] or Ag[SO₃CF₃] affords the highly sensitive compounds [(η⁵‐C₅Me₅)M(N,O‐Schiff base]⁺X^? (M = Rh, Ir; X = BF₄, CF₃SO₃) to which PPh₃ can be added under formation of [(η⁵‐C₅Me₅)M(PPh₃)(N,O‐Schiff base)]⁺X^?. The diastereoisomeric ratio of the complexes ( 1 ‐ 7 and 11 ‐ 12 ) has been determined from NMR spectra.     

Synthesis and Base Pairing Properties of 1′,5′‐Anhydro‐L‐Hexitol Nucleic Acids (L‐HNA)

Oligonucleotides composed of 1′,5′‐anhydro‐arabino‐hexitol nucleosides belonging to the L series (L ‐HNA) were prepared and preliminarily studied as a novel potential base‐pairing system. Synthesis of enantiopure L ‐hexitol nucleotide monomers equipped with a 2′‐(N⁶‐benzoyladenin‐9‐yl) or a 2′‐(thymin‐1‐yl) moiety was carried out by a de novo approach based on a domino reaction as key step. The L oligonucleotide analogues were evaluated in duplex formation with natural complements as well as with unnatural sugar‐modified oligonucleotides. In many cases stable homo‐ and heterochiral associations were found. Besides T_m measurements, detection of heterochiral complexes was unambiguously confirmed by LC‐MS studies. Interestingly, circular dichroism measurements of the most stable duplexes suggested that L ‐HNA form left‐handed helices with both D and L oligonucleotides.     

Functional syndiotactic poly(β‐hydroxyalkanoate)s via stereoselective ring‐opening copolymerization of rac‐β‐butyrolactone and rac‐allyl‐β‐butyrolactone

The copolymerization of racemic β‐butyrolactone (rac‐BL^Me) with racemic “allyl‐β‐butyrolactone” (rac‐BL^allyl) in toluene, catalyzed by the discrete amino‐alkoxy‐bis(phenolate) yttrium‐amido complex 1 , gave new poly(β‐hydroxyalkanoate)s with unsaturated side chains. The poly(BL^Me‐co‐BL^allyl) copolymers produced have a highly syndiotactic backbone structure (P_r = 0.80–0.84) with a random enchainment of monomer units, as evidenced by ¹³C NMR, and high molecular weight (M_n up to 58,000 g mol^?1) with a narrow polydispersity (M_w/M_n = 1.07–1.37), as determined by GPC. The comonomer incorporation (5–50 mol % rac‐BL^allyl) was a linear function of the feed ratio. The pendant vinyl bond of the side‐chains in those poly(BL^Me‐co‐BL^allyl) copolymers allowed the effective introduction of hydroxy or epoxy groups via dihydroxylation, hydroboration‐oxidation or epoxidation reactions. NMR studies indicated that all of these transformations proceed in an essentially quantitative conversion and do not affect the macromolecular architecture. Some thermal properties (T_m, ΔH_m, T_g) of the prepared polymers have been also evaluated. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 3177–3189, 2009     

A Pyrimidopyrimidine Janus‐AT Nucleoside with Improved Base‐Pairing Properties to both A and T within a DNA Duplex: The Stabilizing Effect of a Second Endocyclic Ring Nitrogen

Janus bases are heterocyclic nucleic acid base analogs that present two different faces able to simultaneously hydrogen bond to nucleosides that form Watson–Crick base pairs. The synthesis of a Janus‐AT nucleotide analogue, ^N J_AT , that has an additional endocyclic ring nitrogen and is thus more capable of efficiently discriminating T/A over G/C bases when base‐pairing in a standard duplex‐DNA context is described. Conversion to a phosphoramidite ultimately afforded incorporation into an oligonucleotide. In contrast to the first generation of carbocyclic Janus heterocycles, it remains in its unprotonated state at physiological pH and, therefore, forms very stable Watson–Crick base pairs with either A or T bases. Biophysical and computational methods indicate that ^N J_AT is an improved candidate for sequence‐specific genome targeting.     

Base‐Stabilized Phosphinidene Boranes by Silylium‐Ion Abstraction

We report the preparation of N‐heterocyclic carbene (NHC)‐stabilized compounds containing P=B double bonds. The reaction of the highly functionalized phosphinoborane Mes*(SiMe₃)P?B(Cl)Cp* with Lewis bases allows access to base‐stabilized phosphinidene boranes Mes*P=B(L)Cp* (L=4‐dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP), NHC) by Me₃SiCl elimination. The formation of these species is shown to proceed through transient borylphosphide anions generated by Me₃Si abstraction.     

Developing a Self‐Healing Supramolecular Nucleoside Hydrogel Based on Guanosine and Isoguanosine

Recently, supramolecular hydrogels have attracted increasing interest owing to their tunable stability and inherent biocompatibility. However, only few studies have been reported in the literature on self‐healing supramolecular nucleoside hydrogels, compared to self‐healing polymer hydrogels. In this work, we successfully developed a self‐healing supramolecular nucleoside hydrogel obtained by simply mixing equimolar amounts of guanosine (G) and isoguanosine (isoG) in the presence of K⁺. The gelation properties have been studied systematically by comparing different alkali metal ions as well as mixtures with different ratios of G and isoG. To this end, rheological and phase diagram experiments demonstrated that the co‐gel not only possessed good self‐healing properties and short recovery time (only 20 seconds) but also could be formed at very low concentrations of K⁺. Furthermore, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), powder X‐ray diffraction (PXRD), and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy suggested that possible G₂isoG₂‐quartet structures occurred in this self‐healing supramolecular nucleoside hydrogel. This co‐gel, to some extent, addressed the problem of isoguanosine gels for the applications in vivo, which showed the potential to be a new type of drug delivery system for biomedical applications in the future.     

Single‐Stranded DNA: Replacement of Canonical by Base‐Modified Nucleosides in the Minihairpin 5′‐d(GCGAAGC)‐3′ and Constructs with the Aptamer 5′‐d(GGTTGGTGTGGTTGG)‐3′

The minihairpin 5′‐d(GCGAAGC)‐3′ ( 1 ) was modified either in the loop region, in the base‐paired stem, or at the 5′‐terminus by incorporation of base‐modified nucleosides. The thermal melting was correlated to the structural changes induced by the various donor‐acceptor properties of the nucleosides. Overhanging nonpaired nucleosides at the 5′‐terminus stabilized the hairpin, while a reverse of the dG³?dA⁵ sheared base pair to dA³?dG⁵ severely affected the stability. The combination of the minihairpin 5′‐d(GCGAAGC)‐3′ ( 1 ) and the thrombin‐binding aptamer 5′‐d(GGTTGGTGTGGTTGG)‐3′ ( 2 (= 46 )) resulted in the new construct 5′‐d(GGTTGGGCGAAGC GGTTGG)‐3′ ( 43 ) arising by replacement of the 5′‐d(TGT)‐3′ loop of 2 by the minihairpin. The fused oligonucleotide 43 exhibits a two‐phase thermal transition indicating the presence of the two unaltered moieties. According to slight changes of the T_m values of the construct 43 as compared to the separate units 1 and 2 , cooperative distorsions are discussed.     

Synthesis and asymmetric polymerization of a series of methyl‐substituted triphenylmethyl methacrylate

Five novel ortho‐, meta‐, and para‐methyl‐substituted triphenylmethyl methacrylate monomers, such as o‐tolyldiphenylmethyl methacrylate (o‐MeTrMA), di‐o‐tolylphenylmethyl methacrylate (o‐Me₂TrMA), tris‐o‐tolylmethyl methacrylate (o‐Me₃TrMA), tris‐m‐tolylmethyl methacrylate (m‐Me₃TrMA), and tris‐p‐tolylmethyl methacrylate (p‐Me₃TrMA) have been synthesized. The methanolysis rates of these monomers were measured in CDCl₃‐CD₃OD (1:1, v/v) by ¹H NMR spectroscopy at 30 °C. It was found that the order of the methanolysis rates would be TrMA<o‐MeTrMA<o‐Me₂TrMA<o‐Me₃TrMA<m‐Me₃TrMA except p‐Me₃TrMA, which exhibited very good stability to methanolysis. The asymmetric polymerization of these monomers was investigated by chiral anionic complexes as initiators. The results showed that the ability to form a helical chain was effected not only by the types of chiral complex initiators, but also by the position and number of methyl‐substituted groups at the benzene rings of TrMA. The order of the ability of polymerization was o‐MeTrMA >o‐Me₂TrMA>o‐Me₃TrMA and m‐Me₃TrMA> p‐Me₃TrMA>o‐Me₃TrMA. These differences would be attributed to the different sizes and “propeller” steric structures of the bulky side groups. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 39: 430–436, 2001     

Kinetics and Mechanism of Radical‐Chain Oxidation of 1,2‐Substituted Ethylene and 1,4‐Substituted Butadiene‐1,3

A combination of microvolumetry, the rotating sector method, ESR, ¹H NMR, and IR allowed to establish a detailed mechanism of liquid‐phase oxidation of vinyl compounds X₁CH=CHX₂ and X₁CH=CH–CH=CHX₂ (X₁ and X₂—a polar substitute: С₆Н₅–, CO–, СOO–) initiated by azobisisobutyronitrile. A distinctive feature of the mechanism is the fact that the oxidation chain is carried out by a low‐molecular hydroperoxide radical joining the π‐bond. For nine compounds in the temperature range of 303–353 K, relative chain propagation and termination rate constants were measured (k ₂•k ₃^−0.5). Absolute values of k ₂ were obtained for diphenylethylene (110 L·mol⁻¹·s⁻¹), ethyl ether of trans‐phenyl‐pentadiene acid (13 L·mol⁻¹·s⁻¹), and methyl ether of trans‐phenyl‐pentadiene acid (14.2 L·mol⁻¹·s⁻¹) at T = 323 K. For the same conditions, 10⁻⁸k ₃ were calculated for diphenylethylene (0.87 L·mol⁻¹·s⁻¹) and methyl ether of trans‐phenyl‐pentadiene acid (1.21 L·mol⁻¹·s⁻¹). A cyclic mechanism of the oxidation chain termination on introduced antioxidants (stable nitroxyl radicals of the piperidine series ( > NO^●) and the transition metal compounds (Meⁿ )) was established. The inhibition factor (f ) showing how many reaction chains are terminated by the one particle of the antioxidant is equal to 10². The cyclic chain termination is caused by the following reactions: HO₂^● + > NO^● → NOH + O₂, HO₂● + NOH → >NO^● + H₂O₂ (for >NO^●) and HO₂^● + Meⁿ → Me^{n +1} + HO₂^●−, HO₂^● + Me^{n +1} → Meⁿ + H⁺ + O₂ (for Meⁿ ).     

Screening Nitrogen‐Rich Bases and Oxygen‐Rich Acids by Theoretical Calculations for Forming Highly Stable Salts

Nitrogen‐rich heterocyclic bases and oxygen‐rich acids react to produce energetic salts with potential application in the field of composite explosives and propellants. In this study, 12 salts formed by the reaction of the bases 4‐amino‐1,2,4‐trizole (A), 1‐amino‐1,2,4‐trizole (B), and 5‐aminotetrazole (C), upon reaction with the acids HNO₃ (I), HN(NO₂)₂ (II), HClO₄ (III), and HC(NO₂)₃ (IV), are studied using DFT calculations at the B97‐D/6‐311++G** level of theory. For the reactions with the same base, those of HClO₄ are the most exothermic and spontaneous, and the most negative Δ_rG_m in the formation reaction also corresponds to the highest decomposition temperature of the resulting salt. The ability of anions and cations to form hydrogen bonds decreases in the order NO₃^?>N(NO₂)₂^?>ClO₄^?>C(NO₂)₃^?, and C⁺>B⁺>A⁺. In particular, those different cation abilities are mainly due to their different conformations and charge distributions. For the salts with the same anion, the larger total hydrogen‐bond energy (E_H,tot) leads to a higher melting point. The order of cations and anions on charge transfer (q), second‐order perturbation energy (E₂), and binding energy (E_b) are the same to that of E_H,tot, so larger q leads to larger E₂, E_b, and E_H,tot. All salts have similar frontier orbitals distributions, and their HOMO and LUMO are derived from the anion and the cation, respectively. The molecular orbital shapes are kept as the ions form a salt. To produce energetic salts, 5‐aminotetrazole and HClO₄ are the preferred base and acid, respectively.     

Electron Attachment to Solvated dGpdG: Effects of Stacking on Base‐Centered and Phosphate‐Centered Valence‐Bound Radical Anions

To explore the nature of electron attachment to guanine‐centered DNA single strands in the presence of a polarizable medium, a theoretical investigation of the DNA oligomer dinucleoside phosphate deoxyguanylyl‐3′,5′‐deoxyguanosine (dGpdG) was performed by using density functional theory. Four different electron‐distribution patterns for the radical anions of dGpdG in aqueous solution have been located as local minima on the potential energy surface. The excess electron is found to reside on the proton of the phosphate group (dGp^H?dG), or on the phosphate group (dGp^.?dG), or on the nucleobase at the 5′ position (dG^.?pdG), or on the nucleobase at the 3′ position (dGpdG^.?), respectively. These four radical anions are all expected to be electronically viable species under the influence of the polarizable medium. The predicted energetics of the radical anions follows the order dGp^.?dG>dG^.?pdG>dGpdG^.?>dGp^H?dG. The base–base stacking pattern in DNA single strands seems unaffected by electron attachment. On the contrary, intrastrand H‐bonding is greatly influenced by electron attachment, especially in the formation of base‐centered radical anions. The intrastrand H‐bonding patterns revealed in this study also suggest that intrastrand proton transfer might be possible between successive guanines due to electron attachment to DNA single strands.     

Scandium‐Catalyzed Self‐Assisted Polar Co‐monomer Enchainment in Ethylene Polymerization

Direct coordinative copolymerization of ethylene with functionalized co‐monomers is a long‐sought‐after approach to introducing polyolefin functionality. However, functional‐group Lewis basicity typically depresses catalytic activity and co‐monomer incorporation. Finding alternatives to intensively studied group 4 d⁰ and late‐transition‐metal catalysts is crucial to addressing this long‐standing challenge. Shown herein is that mono‐ and binuclear organoscandium complexes with a borate cocatalyst are active for ethylene + amino olefin [AO; H₂C=CH(CH₂)_nNR₂] copolymerizations in the absence of a Lewis‐acidic masking reagent. Both activity (up to 4.2×10² kg mol⁻¹⋅h^−1> atm^−1>) and AO incorporation (up to 12 % at 0.2 m [AO]) are appreciable. Linker‐length‐dependent (n) AO incorporation and mechanistic probes support an unusual functional‐group‐assisted enchainment mechanism. Furthermore, the binuclear catalysts exhibit enhanced AO tolerance and enhanced long chain AO incorporation.     

Kinetic studies of the interaction between organotin(IV)chlorides and tetraaza Schiff bases: Synthesis and characterization of some novel tin(IV) Schiff base complexes

In this article the kinetics of the interaction between the teteraaza Schiff bases as donor with organotin(IV)chlorides as acceptor was studied in acetonitrile. Teteraaza Schiff bases are (Me₄‐Bzo₂[14]tetraeneN₄) (tmtaa), (Me₄‐4‐CH₃Bzo₂[14]tetraeneN₄) (Metmtaa), (Me₄‐4‐ClBzo₂[14]tetraeneN₄) (Cltmtaa), i.e., [(Me₄‐Bzo₂[14]tetraeneN₄)] means that (5,7,12,14‐tetramethyldibenzo[b,i][1,4,8,11] tetraazacyclotetradecine) (tmtaa) and organotin(IV)chlorides are methyltin(IV) trichloride, phenyltin(IV)trichloride, dimethyltin (IV)dichloride, diphenyltin(IV) dichloride, and dibutyltin(IV)dichloride. The kinetic parameters and the second‐order k₂ rate constants show the donor properties of tetraaza Schiff bases as Me₄‐4‐CH₃Bzo₂[14]tetraeneN₄ > Me₄‐Bzo₂[14]tetraeneN₄ > Me₄‐4‐ClBzo₂[14]tetraeneN₄ and also the acceptor properties of organotin(IV)chlorides as PhSnCl₃ > MeSnCl₃ > Ph₂SnCl₂ > Me₂SnCl₂ > Bu₂SnCl₂. An excellent linearity of k_obs vs. the molar concentration of the acceptor, the high span of k₂ values, the large negative values of ΔS^≠, and the low ΔH^≠ values suggest an associative (A) mechanism for the acceptor–donor interaction. © 2011 Wiley Peiodicals, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 43: 247–254, 2011     

Antioxidative vs cytotoxic activities of organotin complexes bearing 2,6‐di‐tert‐butylphenol moieties

Two series of organotin(IV) complexes with Sn–S bonds on the base of 2,6‐di‐tert‐butyl‐4‐mercaptophenol ( L ¹ SH ) of formulae Me₂Sn(L¹S)₂ ( 1 ); Et₂Sn(L¹S)₂ ( 2 ); Bu₂Sn(L¹S)₂ ( 3 ); Ph ₂ Sn(L¹S)₂ ( 4 ); (L¹)₂Sn(L¹S)₂ ( 5 ); Me₃Sn(L¹S) ( 6 ); Ph₃Sn(L¹S) ( 7 ) (L¹ = 3,5‐di‐tert‐butyl‐4‐hydroxyphenyl), together with the new ones [Me₃SnCl(L²)] ( 8 ), [Me₂SnCl₂(L²)₂] ( 9 ) ( L ²  = 2‐(N‐3′,5′‐di‐tert‐butyl‐4′‐hydroxyphenyl)‐iminomethylphenol) were used to study their antioxidant and cytotoxic activity. Novel complexes 8 , 9 of Me_nSnCl_4 ? n (n = 3, 2) with Schiff base were synthesized and characterized by ¹H, ¹³C NMR, IR and elemental analysis. The crystal structures of compounds 8 and 9 were determined by X‐ray diffraction analysis. The distorted tetrahedral geometry around the Sn center in the monocrystals of 8 was revealed, the Schiff base is coordinated to the tin(IV) atom by electrostatic interaction and formation of short contact Sn–O 2.805 Å. In the case of complex 9 the distorted octahedron coordination of Sn atom is formed. The antioxidant activity of compounds as radical scavengers and reducing agents was proved spectrophotometrically in tests with stable radical DPPH, reduction of Cu²⁺ (CUPRAC method) and interaction with superoxide radical‐anion. Moreover, compounds have been screened for in vitro cytotoxicity on eight human cancer cell lines. A high activity against all cell lines with IC₅₀ values 60–160 nM was determined for the triphenyltin complex 7 , while the introduction of Schiff base decreased the cytotoxicity of the complexes. The influence on mitochondrial potential and mitochondrial permeability for the compounds 8 and 9 has been studied. It is shown that studied complexes depolarize the mitochondria but don't influence the calcium‐induced mitochondrial permeability transition.     

Structure–Activity Relationship Study of a Potent α-Thrombin Binding Aptamer Incorporating Hexitol Nucleotides

The replacement of one or more nucleotide residues in the potent α-thrombin-binding aptamer NU172 with hexitol-based nucleotides has been devised to study the effect of these substitutions on the physicochemical and functional properties of the anticoagulant agent. The incorporation of single hexitol nucleotides at the T9 and G18 positions of NU172 substantially retained the physicochemical features of the parent oligonucleotide, as a result of the biomimetic properties of the hexitol backbone. Importantly, the NU172- T ^H9 mutant exhibited a higher binding affinity toward human α-thrombin than the native aptamer and an improved stability even after 24 h in 90 % human serum, with a significant increase in the estimated half-life. The anticoagulant activity of the modified oligonucleotide was also found to be slightly preferable to NU172. Overall, these results confirm the potential of hexitol nucleotides as biomimetic agents, while laying the foundations for the development of NU172-inspired α-thrombin-binding aptamers.     

Reaktion von (R,R)‐(N,N′)‐Diisopropylcyclohexyl‐1,2‐diamin mit Me2MCl (M = Ga,In)

Reaction of (R,R)‐(N,N′)‐Diisopropylcyclohexyl‐1,2‐diamine with Me₂MCl (M = Ga, In) (R,R)‐(N,N′)‐Diisopropylcyclohexyl‐1,2‐diamine (H₂L) was reacted with Me₂GaCl and Me₂InCl in boiling toluene, respectively. In both cases the salt [Me₂M(H₂L)][Me₂MCl₂] [M = Ga ( 1 ), In ( 2 )] was formed. 1 and 2 were characterized by NMR and vibrational spectroscopy. In addition, an X‐ray structure determination was applied on 2 . According to the spectroscopical and structural findings 1 and 2 consist of cations [Me₂M(H₂L)]⁺ and anions [Me₂MCl₂]^?.     

Metal‐Modified Nucleic Acids: Metal‐Mediated Base Pairs,Triples, and Tetrads

The incorporation of metal ions into nucleic acids by means of metal‐mediated base pairs represents a promising and prominent strategy for the site‐specific decoration of these self‐assembling supramolecules with metal‐based functionality. Over the past 20 years, numerous nucleoside surrogates have been introduced in this respect, broadening the metal scope by providing perfectly tailored metal‐binding sites. More recently, artificial nucleosides derived from natural purine or pyrimidine bases have moved into the focus of Ag^I‐mediated base pairing, due to their expected compatibility with regular Watson–Crick base pairs. This minireview summarizes these advances in metal‐mediated base pairing but also includes further recent progress in the field. Moreover, it addresses other aspects of metal‐modified nucleic acids, highlighting an expansion of the concept to metal‐mediated base triples (in triple helices and three‐way junctions) and metal‐mediated base tetrads (in quadruplexes). For all types of metal‐modified nucleic acids, proposed or accomplished applications are briefly mentioned, too.