Transition state of rare event base pair opening probed by threading into looped DNA

Strong DNA deformation required for extremely slow DNA threading intercalation by a binuclear ruthenium complex

DNA intercalation by threading is expected to yield high affinity and slow dissociation, properties desirable for DNA-targeted therapeutics. To measure these properties, we utilize single molecule DNA stretching to quantify both the binding affinity and the force-dependent threading intercalation kinetics of the binuclear ruthenium complex Δ,Δ-[μ‐bidppz‐(phen)₄Ru₂]⁴⁺ (Δ,Δ-P). We measure the DNA elongation at a range of constant stretching forces using optical tweezers, allowing direct characterization of the intercalation kinetics as well as the amount intercalated at equilibrium. Higher forces exponentially facilitate the intercalative binding, leading to a profound decrease in the binding site size that results in one ligand intercalated at almost every DNA base stack. The zero force Δ,Δ-P intercalation K_d is 44 nM, 25-fold stronger than the analogous mono-nuclear ligand (Δ-P). The force-dependent kinetics analysis reveals a mechanism that requires DNA elongation of 0.33 nm for association, relaxation to an equilibrium elongation of 0.19 nm, and an additional elongation of 0.14 nm from the equilibrium state for dissociation. In cells, a molecule with binding properties similar to Δ,Δ-P may rapidly bind DNA destabilized by enzymes during replication or transcription, but upon enzyme dissociation it is predicted to remain intercalated for several hours, thereby interfering with essential biological processes.

Threading polyintercalators with extremely slow dissociation rates and extended DNA binding sites

The development of small molecules that bind DNA sequence specifically has the potential to modulate gene expression in a general way. One mode of DNA binding is intercalation, or the insertion of molecules between DNA base pairs. We have developed a modular polyintercalation system in which intercalating naphthalene diimide (NDI) units are connected by flexible linkers that alternate between the minor and major grooves of DNA when bound. We recently reported a threading tetraintercalator with a dissociation half-life of 16 days, the longest reported to date, from its preferred 14 bp binding site. Herein, three new tetraintercalator derivatives were synthesized with one, two, and three additional methylene units in the central major groove-binding linker. These molecules displayed dissociation half-lives of 57, 27, and 18 days, respectively, from the 14 bp site. The optimal major groove-binding linker was used in the design of an NDI hexaintercalator that was analyzed by gel-shift assays, DNase I footprinting, and UV-vis spectroscopy. The hexaintercalator bound its entire 22 bp binding site, the longest reported specific binding site for a synthetic, non-nucleic acid-based DNA binding molecule, but with a significantly faster dissociation rate compared to the tetraintercalators.

Bridging ligand length controls at selectivity and enantioselectivity of binuclear ruthenium threading intercalators

The slow dissociation of DNA threading intercalators makes them interesting as model compounds in the search for new DNA targeting drugs, as there appears to be a correlation between slow dissociation and biological activity. Thus, it would be of great value to understand the mechanisms controlling threading intercalation, and for this purpose we have investigated how the length of the bridging ligand of binuclear ruthenium threading intercalators affects their DNA binding properties. We have synthesised a new binuclear ruthenium threading intercalator with slower dissociation kinetics from ct-DNA than has ever been observed for any ruthenium complex with any type of DNA, a property that we attribute to the increased distance between the ruthenium centres of the new complex. By comparison with previously studied ruthenium complexes, we further conclude that elongation of the bridging ligand reduces the sensitivity of the threading interaction to DNA flexibility, resulting in a decreased AT selectivity for the new complex. We also find that the length of the bridging ligand affects the enantioselectivity with increasing preference for the ΔΔ enantiomer as the bridging ligand becomes longer.