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3-Fluoro-2-mercuri-6-methylaniline Nucleotide as a High-Affinity Nucleobase-Specific Hybridization Probe
Asmo Aro-Heinilä1, Tuomas Lönnberg1, Pasi Virta1
1Department of Chemistry , University of Turku , Vatselankatu 2 , 20014 Turku , Finland.
Abstract:
A 3-fluoro-6-methylaniline nucleoside was synthesized and incorporated into an oligonucleotide, and its ability to form mercury-mediated base pairs was studied. UV melting experiments revealed increased duplex stability with thymine, guanine, and cytosine opposite to the probe and a clear nucleobase-specific binding preference (T > G > C > A). Moreover, the 3-fluoro group was utilized as a spin label that showed distinct 19F NMR resonance shifts depending on the complementary nucleobase, providing more detailed information on Hg(II)-mediated base pairing.
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