Metallointercalators as Probes of the DNA π-way
Abstract
This chapter describes efforts in our laboratory to characterize the role of double helical DNA in catalyzing electron-transfer reactions. Using intercalating metal complexes as donor and acceptor, we have shown that the luminescence of [Ru(phen)_2(dppz)]^(2+*) is efficiently quenched by [Rh(phi)_2(phen)]^(3+) in the presence of B-form DNA. Covalent attachment of these metal complexes to either ends of a short duplex leads to complete quenching of luminescence over a separation distance between intercalated donor and acceptor of >40Å. These results with metallointercalators point to the π-stacked array of heterocyclic DNA base pairs as an effective intervening medium for long-range electron transfer and provides a new approach in applying the DNA helical polymer as a "molecular wire."
Additional Information
© 1995 American Chemical Society. Received for review August 23, 1993. Accepted revised manuscript December 21, 1993. Published in print 5 May 1996. We are grateful to the efforts of our collaborators and co-workers, as noted in the individual references. We acknowledge in particular the contributions of C. V. Kumar, who first discovered the remarkable efficiency of DNA in promoting reactions between transition metal complexes. We thank also Jay Winkler, who has provided expert technical assistance in the Beckman Institute laser laboratory. In addition we thank the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, and the National Foundation for Cancer Research for financial support.Additional details
Identifiers
- Eprint ID
- 85674
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20180406-080327207
Funding
- NIH
- NSF
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR)
- Ralph M. Parsons Foundation
- National Foundation for Cancer Research
Dates
- Created
-
2018-04-06Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2021-11-15Created from EPrint's last_modified field
Caltech Custom Metadata
- Series Name
- Advances in Chemistry
- Series Volume or Issue Number
- 246