Abstract
The thermal stability and ultraviolet and circular dichroism spectra of nine synthetic DNA hairpins possessing one or more PC-G base pairs (PC = pyrrolocytosine) have been investigated. One group of hairpins possess 1-5 sequential PC-G base pairs while another group possess two PC-G base pairs separated by 1-3 A-T base pairs. The first group displays a nearly linear dependence of UV and exciton-coupled circular dichroism (EC-CD) band intensity upon the number of neighboring chromophores, whereas the second group shows weak EC-CD only at the shortest distances between non-neighboring chromophores. This result stands in marked contrast to the exciton coupling seen between stilbene chromophores separated by as many as a dozen base pairs. The weak exciton coupling between non-neighboring PC chromophores, like that of the natural nucelobases, is attributed to their relatively weak electronic transition dipoles.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 5199-5204 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Journal of Physical Chemistry B |
Volume | 116 |
Issue number | 17 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - May 3 2012 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
- Surfaces, Coatings and Films
- Materials Chemistry