Affiliation:
1. Department of Pharmacy Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München Butenandtstr. 5–13 81377 Munich Germany
2. Current address: Institute for Stem-Cell Biology Regenerative Medicine and Innovative Therapies IRCCS Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza, San Giovanni Rotondo (Italy) & Center for Nanomedicine and Tissue Engineering (CNTE) ASST Grande Ospedale Metropolitano Niguarda 20162 Milan Italy
Abstract
AbstractDNA mimic foldamers based on aromatic oligoamide helices bearing anionic phosphonate side chains have been shown to bind to DNA‐binding proteins sometimes orders of magnitude better than DNA itself. Here, we introduce new features in the DNA mimic foldamers to facilitate structural investigations of their interactions with proteins. Thirteen new foldamer sequences have been synthesized and characterized using NMR, circular dichroism, molecular modeling, and X‐ray crystallography. The results show that foldamer helix handedness can be quantitatively biased by means of a single stereogenic center, that the foldamer structure can be made C2‐symmetrical as in palindromic B‐DNA sequences, and that associations between foldamer helices can be promoted utilizing dedicated C‐terminal residues that act as sticky ends in B‐DNA structures.
Funder
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
HORIZON EUROPE European Research Council
China Scholarship Council
Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst