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Updated: Jul 20, 2026

Analyzing and Building Nucleic Acid Structures with 3DNA
Published on: April 26, 2013
NMR structural analysis of a modular threading tetraintercalator bound to DNA
Jeeyeon Lee1, Vladimir Guelev, Steven Sorey
1Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Texas, Austin, Texas 78712, USA.
Abstract:
The synthesis and NMR structural studies are reported for a modular threading tetraintercalator bound to DNA. The tetraintercalator design is based on 1,4,5,8-tetracarboxylic naphthalene diimide units connected through flexible peptide linkers. Aided by an overall C(2) symmetry, NMR analysis verified a threading polyintercalation mode of binding, with linkers alternating in the order minor groove, major groove, minor groove, analogous to how a snake might climb a ladder. This study represents the first NMR analysis of a threading tetraintercalator and, as such, structurally characterizes a new topology for molecules that bind to relatively long DNA sequences with extensive access to both DNA grooves.
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