Directing macromolecular conformation through halogen bonds

The halogen bond, a noncovalent interaction involving polarizable chlorine, bromine, or iodine molecular substituents, is now being exploited to control the assembly of small molecules in the design of supramolecular complexes and new materials. We demonstrate that a halogen bond formed between a br...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 2007-04, Vol.104 (15), p.6188-6193
Main Authors: Voth, Andrea Regier, Hays, Franklin A, Ho, P. Shing
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biochemistry
Biological Sciences
Biophysical Phenomena
Biophysics
Bromine
Bromine - chemistry
Chemical bonds
Chemical elements
Crystals
Deoxyribonucleic acid
DNA
DNA - chemistry
Electrostatics
Genetic Engineering - methods
Halogens
Hydrogen Bonding
Hydrogen bonds
Isomers
Macromolecular Substances - chemistry
Models, Molecular
Molecular Conformation
Molecular interactions
Oxygen
Phosphates
Uracil - chemistry
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The halogen bond, a noncovalent interaction involving polarizable chlorine, bromine, or iodine molecular substituents, is now being exploited to control the assembly of small molecules in the design of supramolecular complexes and new materials. We demonstrate that a halogen bond formed between a brominated uracil and phosphate oxygen can be engineered to direct the conformation of a biological molecule, in this case to define the conformational isomer of a four-stranded DNA junction when placed in direct competition against a classic hydrogen bond. As a result, this bromine interaction is estimated to be [almost equal to]2-5 kcal/mol stronger than the analogous hydrogen bond in this environment, depending on the geometry of the halogen bond. This study helps to establish halogen bonding as a potential tool for the rational design and construction of molecular materials with DNA and other biological macromolecules.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.0610531104