A Model of Smart G-Quadruplex Ligand
An unprecedented strategy to control the quadruplex- vs duplex-DNA selectivity of a ligand is reported. We designed a compound whose structure can rearrange when it interacts with a G-quadruplex, thereby controlling its affinity. Thus, the first "smart G-quadruplex ligand" is reported, since this ligand experiences a structural change in the presence of quadruplexes but not in the presence of duplexes, ensuring a high level of quadruplex selectivity.
Multitasking Water-Soluble Synthetic G-Quartets: From Preferential RNA-Quadruplex Interaction to Biocatalytic Activity
Natural G-quartets, a cyclic and coplanar array of four guanine res- idues held together through a Watson- Crick/Hoogsteen hydrogen-bond net- work, have received recently much at- tention due to their involvement in G- quadruplex DNA, an alternative higher-order DNA structure strongly suspected to play important roles in key cellular events. Besides this, syn- thetic G-quartets (SQ), which artificial- ly mimic native G-quartets, have also been widely studied for their involve- ment in nanotechnological applications (i.e., nanowires, artificial ion channels, etc.). In contrast, intramolecular syn- thetic G-quartets (iSQ), also named template-assembled synthetic G-quar- tets (TASQ), have been…
Porphyrin-templated synthetic G-quartet (PorphySQ): a second prototype of G-quartet-based G-quadruplex ligand.
Template-assembled synthetic G-quartet (TASQ) has been reported recently as a G-quadruplex ligand interacting with DNA according to an unprecedented, nature-inspired ‘like likes like’ approach, based on the association between two G-quartets, one being native (quadruplex) and the other one artificial (ligand). Herein, a novel TASQ-based ligand is designed, synthesized and its quadruplex-recognition properties are evaluated in vitro: PorphySQ (for porphyrin-templated synthetic G-quartet) displays enhanced quadruplex recognition properties as compared to the very first reported prototype (DOTASQ, for DOTA-templated synthetic G-quartet), since the porphyrin template insures a more stable intra…