Structure, stability and behaviour of nucleic acids in ionic liquids.

Area of Science:

• Nanotechnology
• Biomolecular Chemistry
• Materials Science

Background:

• Nucleic acids' conformational polymorphism is valuable for nanotechnology.
• Long-term stability of nucleic acid structures in solvents has been a challenge.
• Ionic liquids (ILs), especially hydrated forms like choline dihydrogen phosphate (choline dhp) and deep eutectic solvents (DES), are explored as potential stabilizing media.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the behavior of nucleic acids in hydrated ILs (choline dhp and DES).
• To understand the structural stability of DNA in these green solvents.
• To inform the design of DNA-based nanomaterials and nanodevices.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing literature on nucleic acid structures and stabilities in choline dhp and DES.
• Analysis of base-pair stability (A-T vs. G-C) in choline dhp.
• Assessment of DNA triplex formation and G-quadruplex stability in hydrated ILs.

Main Results:

• In choline dhp, A-T base pairs show greater stability than G-C base pairs, unlike in buffered NaCl solutions.
• DNA triplex formation is significantly stabilized in hydrated ILs compared to aqueous solutions.
• Hoogsteen base pair stability in choline dhp is comparable to Watson-Crick base pairs.
• The parallel G-quadruplex structure is stabilized in DES relative to aqueous environments.

Conclusions:

• Hydrated ILs provide stable environments for nucleic acid structures, overcoming previous limitations.
• Specific base-pair and structural stabilities are modulated by hydrated ILs, offering new design possibilities.
• This understanding is crucial for advancing the development of oligonucleotide-based nanomaterials and nanodevices.