Abstract
The DNA-binding properties of Ru(bpy)2(eilatin)2+ have been investigated to determine if the sterically expansive eilatin ligand confers specificity for destabilized single-base mismatches in DNA. Competitive DNA photocleavage experiments employing a sequence-neutral metallointercalator, Rh(bpy)2(phi)3+ (phi = 9,10-phenanthrenequinonediimine), and a mismatch-specific metalloinsertor, Rh(bpy)2(chrysi)3+ (chrysi = chrysene-5,6-quinonediimine), reveal that the eilatin complex binds to a CC mismatched site with an apparent binding constant of 2.2(2) × 106 M−1. Nonetheless, the selectivity in binding mismatched DNA is not high: competitive titrations with Rh(bpy)2(phi)3+ show that the complex binds also to well-matched B-form sites. Thus, Ru(bpy)2(eilatin)2+, despite containing the extremely expansive eilatin ligand, displays lower selectivity for the mismatch than does Rh(bpy)2(chrysi)3+, a metalloinsertor containing the smaller, though still bulky, chrysene-5,6-quinonediimine ligand. In summary, the size and shape of the eilatin ligand allow stacking with both well-matched and mismatched DNA.

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