Vibrational and electronic circular dichroism and absorption spectral study of the DNA–5,10,15,20-tetrakis(1-methylpyridinium-4-yl)porphyrin interaction

Sensitive Hg2+ Sensing via Quenching the Fluorescence of the Complex between Polythymine and 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(N-methyl-4-pyridyl) Porphyrin (TMPyP)

The interaction between polythymine (dTn) and 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(N-methyl-4-pyridyl) porphyrin (TMPyP) was systematically studied using various techniques. dTn remarkably enhanced the fluorescence intensity of TMPyP as compared to other oligonucleotides. The enhanced fluorescence intensity and the shift of the emission peaks were ascribed to the formation of a π-π complex between TMPyP and dTn. And the quenching of the dTn-enhanced fluorescence by Hg²⁺ through a synergistic effect occurs due to the heavy atom effect. The binding of Hg²⁺ to TMPyP plays an important role in the Hg-TMPyP-dT₃₀ ternary complex formation. A TMPyP-dT₃₀-based Hg²⁺ sensor was developed with a dynamic range of Hg²⁺ from 5 nM to 100 nM. The detection limit of 1.3 nM was low enough for Hg²⁺ determination. The sensor also exhibited good selectivity against other metal ions. Experiments for tap water and river water demonstrated that the detection method was applicable for Hg²⁺ determination in real samples. The Hg²⁺ sensor based on oligonucleotide dT₃₀-enhanced TMPyP fluorescence was fast and low-cost, presenting a promising platform for practical Hg²⁺ determination.

The evaluation of Cr-curcumin-DNA complexation by experimental and theoretical approaches

Chromium(III) chloride mediates DNA-DNA cross-linking. Some chromium complexes promote programmed cell death in specific ligand environment through binding to DNA. One strategy that can be supposed for reduction of Cr³⁺ binding affinity to DNA is using curcumin as a chelator. In the current study, the [Cr(Curcumin)(EtOH)₂](NO₃)₂ (CCC) was synthesized and characterized by UV/Vis, FT-IR, CHN and spectrophotometric titration techniques. The mole ratio plot revealed a 1:1 complex between Cr³⁺ and curcumin in solution. Binding interaction of this complex with calf thymus-DNA (CT-DNA) was investigated using UV/Vis, circular dichroism (CD), FT-IR and cyclic voltammetry. The intrinsic binding constants of CCC with DNA, measured by UV/Vis and cyclic voltammetry, were 1.60 × 10⁵ and 1.13 × 10⁵, respectively. The thermodynamic studies showed that the reaction is enthalpy and entropy favoured. CD analysis revealed that only Λ-CCC interacts with DNA and Δ-CCC form has no tendency towards DNA. Based on FT-IR studies, it was understood that CCC interacts with DNA via minor groove binding. The docking simulation was carried out for finding the binding mode of CCC to DNA, too. All of data demonstrated that the curcumin significantly reduced the affinity of Cr³⁺ to the DNA and the form of Δ-CCC has no interaction with DNA.

Polarization spectroscopy methods in the determination of interactions of small molecules with nucleic acids - tutorial

The structural characterization of non-covalent complexes between nucleic acids and small molecules (ligands) is of a paramount significance to bioorganic research. Highly informative methods about nucleic acid/ligand complexes such as single crystal X-ray diffraction or NMR spectroscopy cannot be performed under biologically compatible conditions and are extensively time consuming. Therefore, in search for faster methods which can be applied to conditions that are at least similar to the naturally occurring ones, a set of polarization spectroscopy methods has shown highly promising results. Electronic circular dichroism (ECD) is the most commonly used method for the characterization of the helical structure of DNA and RNA and their complexes with ligands. Less common but complementary to ECD, is flow-oriented linear dichroism (LD). Other methods such as vibrational CD (VCD) and emission-based methods (FDCD, CPL), can also be used for suitable samples. Despite the popularity of polarization spectroscopy in biophysics, aside several highly focused reviews on the application of these methods to DNA/RNA research, there is no systematic tutorial covering all mentioned methods as a tool for the characterization of adducts between nucleic acids and small ligands. This tutorial aims to help researchers entering the research field to organize experiments accurately and to interpret the obtained data reliably.

Study binding of Al-curcumin complex to ds-DNA, monitoring by multispectroscopic and voltammetric techniques

In this work a complex of Al3+ with curcumin ([Al(curcumin) (EtOH)2](NO3)2) was synthesized and characterized by UV-vis, FT-IR, elemental analysis and spectrophotometric titration techniques. The mole ratio plot revealed a 1:1 complex between Al3+ and curcumin in solution. For binding studies of this complex to calf thymus-DNA various methods such as: UV-vis, fluorescence, circular dichroism (CD), FT-IR spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry were used. The intrinsic binding constant of ACC with DNA at 25°C was calculated by UV-vis and cyclic voltammetry as 2.1×10(4) and 2.6×10(4), respectively. The thermodynamic studies showed that the reaction is enthalpy and entropy favored. The CD results showed that only the Δ-ACC interacts with DNA and the Δ-ACC form has not any tendency to interact with DNA, also the pure curcumin has not any stereoselective interaction with CT-DNA. Fluorimetric studies showed that fluorescence enhancement was initiated by a static process in the ground state. The cyclic voltammetry showed that ACC interact with DNA with a binding site size of 2. From the FT-IR we concluded that the Δ-ACC interacts with DNA via partial electrostatic and minor groove binding. In comparison with previous works it was concluded that curcumin significantly reduced the affinity of Al3+ to the DNA.

Applications of the Cartesian coordinate tensor transfer technique in the simulations of vibrational circular dichroism spectra of oligonucleotides

The application of the Cartesian coordinate tensor transfer (CCT) technique for simulations of the IR absorption and vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) spectra of relatively large nucleic acid fragments is demonstrated on several case studies. The approach is based on direct ab initio calculations of atomic tensors, determining molecular properties, for relatively small fragments, and subsequent transfer of these tensors to the larger systems in Cartesian coordinates. This procedure enables precise computations of vibrational spectra for large biomolecular systems, currently with up to several thousands of atoms. The versatile ability of the CCT methods is emphasized on the examples of VCD and IR absorption spectra calculations for B- and Z-forms of DNA, single-, double-, and triple-stranded RNA helices and DNA structures with different base content and sequences. The development and recent improvements of the methodology are followed, including utilization of the constrained normal mode optimization (NMO) strategy and combined quantum mechanics and molecular dynamics simulations. Advantages, drawbacks, and recommendations for future improvements of the CCT method as applied to nucleic acid spectra calculations are discussed.

Molecular structure of guanine-quartet supramolecular assemblies in a gel-state based on a DFT calculation of infrared and vibrational circular dichroism spectra

The infrared (IR) and vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) spectra of guanosine-5'-hydrazide ( G-1), a powerful hydrogelator, have been measured and analyzed on the basis of ab initio modeling. B3LYP/6-31G** DFT calculations predict that G-1, forming a clear solution in deuterated DMSO, is present in monomeric form in this solvent, whereas strong gelation in a phosphate buffer is due to the formation of a guanine-quartet structure, ( G-1)4, in which the four G-1 are linked by hydrogen-bonded guanine moieties and stabilized by an alkali metal cation. The B3LYP/6-31G** IR and VCD spectra of the nearly planar G-quartet, whose structure is slightly distorted from the C4h symmetry, in which the G-bases interact via four Hoogsteen-type hydrogen bonds and a sodium cation is positioned in the middle of the G-quartet, are in very good agreement with the experimental spectra, indicating that this structure is the predominant structure in the gel state. The geometric parameters are discussed. This study is the first to use IR and VCD spectroscopies coupled with DFT calculations to elucidate the structure of a supramolecular species in a gel state and shows the VCD spectroscopy as a powerful method for investigating the structure of complex supramolecular self-assemblies where the use of other structural methods is limited.

Formation and temperature stability of G-quadruplex structures studied by electronic and vibrational circular dichroism spectroscopy combined with ab initio calculations

Variations in the structure of d(GGGA)(5) oligonucleotide in the presence of Li(+), Na(+), and K(+) ions and its temperature stability were studied using electronic and vibrational circular dichroism, IR absorption, and ab initio calculations with the Becke 3-Lee-Yang-Parr functional at the 6-31G** level. The samples were characterized by nondenaturing gel electrophoresis. Oligonucleotide d(GGGA)(5) in the presence of Li(+) forms a nonplanar single tetramer, with angles of 102 degrees and 171 degrees between neighboring guanine bases. This tetramer changes its geometry at temperatures >50 degrees C, but does not form a quadruplex structure. In the presence of Na(+), the d(GGGA)(5) structure was optimized to almost planar tetramers with an angle of 177 degrees between neighboring guanines. The spectral results suggest that it stacks into a quadruplex helical structure. This quadruplex structure decayed to a single tetramer at temperatures >60 degrees C. The Hartree-Fock energies imply that d(GGGA)(5) prefers to form complexes with Na(+) rather than Li(+). The d(GGGA)(5) structure in the presence of monovalent ions is stabilized against thermal denaturation in the order Li(+) < Na(+) < K(+).

Synthesis and DNA-recognition and -cleavage properties of multiply charged porphyrin esters

A series of systematically modified porphyrin esters, compounds 1-6, with multiple, permanent positive charges introduced at the meso-positions via N-methylated 4-, 3-, or 2-pyridyl moieties, were prepared and characterized. Their singlet-oxygen production, CT-DNA-binding properties, and plasmid-DNA photocleavage propensities were determined spectroscopically and by gel electrophoresis, and compared to those of the known, fourfold-charged parent porphyrin 4,4',4'',4'''-porphyrin-5,10,15,20-tetrayltetrakis(1-methylpyridinium) (TMPyP4). Some interesting structure-activity relationships could be established to rationalize effects affecting DNA binding mode and cleavage ability.

Investigation of guanosine-quartet assemblies by vibrational and electronic circular dichroism spectroscopy, a novel approach for studying supramolecular entities

The self-assembly of guanosine-5'-hydrazide G-1 in D(2)O, in the presence and absence of sodium cations, has been investigated by chiroptical techniques: electronic (ECD) and the newly introduced vibrational (VCD) circular dichroism spectroscopy. Using a combination of ECD and VCD with other methods such as IR, electron microscopy, and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) it was found that G-1 produces long-range chiral aggregates consisting of G-quartets, (G-1)(4), subsequently stacked into columns, [(G-1)(4)](n), induced by binding of metal cations between the (G-1)(4) species. This process, accompanied by gelation of the sample, is highly efficient in the presence of an excess of sodium cations, leading to aggregates with strong quartet-quartet interaction. Thermally induced conformational changes and conformational stability of guanosine-5'-hydrazide assemblies were studied by chiroptical techniques and the melting temperature of the hydrogels formed was obtained. The temperature-dependent experiments indicate that the long-range supramolecular aggregates are dissociated by increasing temperature into less ordered species, monomers, or other intermediates in equilibrium, as indicated by MS experiments.

The DNA-Porphyrin Interactions Studied by Vibrational and Electronic Circular Dichroism Spectroscopy

The interactions of three different porphyrins, without axial ligands - 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(1-methylpyridinium-4-yl)porphyrin-Cu(II) tetrachloride (Cu(II)TMPyP), with axial ligands - 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(1-methylpyridinium-4-yl)porphyrin-Fe(III) pentachloride (Fe(III)TMPyP), and with bulky meso substituents - 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(N,N,N-trimethylanilinium-4-yl)-porphyrin tetrachloride (TMAP), with calf thymus DNA were studied by combination of vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) and electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectroscopy, and by IR and UV-VIS absorption spectroscopy. It has been shown that Cu(II)TMPyP prefers the intercalative binding mode with DNA in the GC-rich regions and the intercalative sites are saturated at the c(DNA)/c(Cu(II)TMPyP) ratio ~3:1, where c(DNA) and c(Cu(II)TMPyP) are total molar concentrations of nucleic acid in base pairs and porphyrin, respectively. Fe(III)TMPyP does not intercalate between the GC base pairs but binds to DNA in the minor groove. At higher c(DNA)/c(TMAP) ratios, TMAP interacts with DNA in the minor groove, but at lower ratios in the major groove and by the external binding mode accompanied by self-stacking of porphyrins along the phosphate backbone. VCD spectroscopy reliably discriminates the binding modes and specifies the conformational changes of the DNA matrices. It has been also shown that VCD spectroscopy is an effective tool for the conformational studies of DNA-porphyrin complexes. New spectroscopic "markers" in VCD spectra have been found for the specific DNA-porphyrin interactions.