A Discrete Self-Assembled Metal Array in Artificial DNA
Kentaro Tanaka,1
Atsushi Tengeiji,1
Tatsuhisa Kato,2
Namiki Toyama,2
Mitsuhiko Shionoya1*
DNA has a structural basis to array functionalized building blocks.
Here we report the synthesis of a series of artificial oligonucleotides, d(5'-GHnC-3')
(n = 1 to 5), with hydroxypyridone nucleobases
(H) as flat bidentate ligands. Right-handed double helices
of the oligonucleotides, nCu2+·d(5'-GHnC-3')2
(n = 1 to 5), were quantitatively formed through copper
ion (Cu2+)-mediated alternative base pairing
(H-Cu2+-H), where the
Cu2+ ions incorporated into each complex were aligned along
the helix axes inside the duplexes with the
Cu2+-Cu2+ distance of 3.7 ± 0.1 angstroms. The Cu2+ ions were coupled ferromagnetically
with one another through unpaired d electrons to form
magnetic chains.
1 Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of
Science, University of Tokyo, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan.
2 Institute for Molecular Science, Myodaiji, Okazaki
444-8585, Japan.
*
To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail:
shionoya{at}chem.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp
