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Experimental methods capable of selectively probing water at the DNA minor groove, major groove, and phosphate backbone are crucial for understanding how hydration influences DNA structure and function. Chiral-selective sum frequency generation spectroscopy (chiral SFG) is unique among vibrational spectroscopies because it can selectively probe water molecules that form chiral hydration structures around biomolecules. However, interpreting chiral SFG spectra is challenging since both water and the biomolecule can produce chiral SFG signals. Here, we combine experiment and computation to establish a theoretical framework for the rigorous interpretation of chiral SFG spectra of DNA. We demonstrate that chiral SFG detects the N–H stretch of DNA base pairs and the O–H stretch of water, exclusively probing water molecules in the DNA first hydration shell. Our analysis reveals that DNA transfers chirality to water molecules only within the first hydration shell, so they can be probed by chiral SFG spectroscopy. Beyond the first hydration shell, the electric field-induced water structure is symmetric and, therefore, precludes chiral SFG response. Furthermore, we find that chiral SFG can differentiate chiral subpopulations of first hydration shell water molecules at the minor groove, major groove, and phosphate backbone. Our findings challenge the scientific perspective dominant for more than 40 years that the minor groove “spine of hydration” is the only chiral water structure surrounding the DNA double helix. By identifying the molecular origins of the DNA chiral SFG spectrum, we lay a robust experimental and theoretical foundation for applying chiral SFG to explore the chemical and biological physics of DNA hydration.
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Dimeric and trimeric derivatives of the azinomycin B chromophore show enhanced DNA binding
To explore the utility of the azinomycin B chromophore as a platform for the development of major-groove binding small molecules, we have prepared a series of 3-methoxy-5-methylnaphthalene derivatives containing diamine, triamine, and carbohydrate linker moieties. All bis- and tris-azinomycin derivatives are intercalators that display submicromolar binding affinities for calf-thymus DNA, as revealed by viscometry measurements and fluorescent intercalator displacement (FID) assays, respectively. Although the tightest binding ligand 1d ( K a = 2.42 × 10 7 M −1 ) has similar affinities for sequence diverse polynucleotides, competition binding studies with methylated phage DNA and known major and minor groove binding small molecules suggest that the tether moiety linking the naphthalene chromophores may occupy the major groove of DNA.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1508070
- PAR ID:
- 10097200
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry
- Volume:
- 15
- Issue:
- 21
- ISSN:
- 1477-0520
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 4522 to 4526
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1039/c7ob00944e
