The Disobeying 'Soldier': Use of an Achiral Group to Modulate Chiral Induction in PNA Duplexes

Authors

  • Artur Sargun Carnegie Mellon University Department of Chemistry 4400 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh PA 15213, USA
  • Yanhaomin Fang Carnegie Mellon University Department of Chemistry 4400 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh PA 15213, USA
  • Catalina Achim Carnegie Mellon University Department of Chemistry 4400 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh PA 15213, USA. achim@cmu.edu

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.2533/chimia.2018.368

Keywords:

Coordination complexes, Inversion of handedness, Peptide nucleic acids, Sergeants and soldiers effect, Terpyridine

Abstract

Peptide nucleic acid (PNA) is a synthetic analogue of DNA in which the natural nucleobases A, G, C, and T are linked to an achiral, charge neutral, pseudopeptide backbone. PNA strands can form double helices similar to DNA whose helical sense can be modulated by applying the 'sergeants-and-soldiers' principle. Attachment of a chiral amino acid (sergeant) at the C-terminus of PNA leads to the amplification of chirality of the sergeant onto the achiral PNA monomers (soldiers), resulting in an enantiomeric excess of either left- or right-handed PNA duplexes. In the present study we looked at the effect of an achiral N-terminal terpyridine (soldier) on the helicity of the double helix that contains L-lysine. We have found that terpyridine interferes with the chiral induction effect of the L-lysines, an effect that can be reverted upon coordination of Cu2+ ions to terpyridine.

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Published

2018-06-27