Probing the nature of three-centered hydrogen bonds in minor-groove ligand-DNA interactions: the contribution of fluorine hydrogen bonds to complex stability.

Double-stranded DNA sequences have been prepared in which single atoms (the O2-carbonyls of selected thymines) have been replaced by fluorine or methyl. To maintain normal Watson-Crick hydrogen bonding with the complementary purines, these analogue derivatives have been prepared as C-nucleosides. The O2-carbonyls of interest for this study are those involved in a bifurcated (or three-centered) hydrogen bond with the minor groove binding ligand 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI). TM studies of the duplexes illustrate that the DNA duplexes are destabilized when fluorine or methyl replaces one or both of the minor groove O2-carbonyls, which can in part be explained by changes in minor groove hydration. In the presence of DAPI, most of the duplexes exhibit an increased TM due to the presence of DAPI bound in the minor groove. The extent of helix overstabilization negatively correlates with the presence of one or both methyl groups in the minor groove, suggesting that ligand binding is weakened in the presence of the non-carbonyl functional groups. The presence of single fluorine appears to promote helix stabilization, and native-like stabilization occurs when both fluorines are present. KD values quantitate binding effects between DAPI and the native and analogue sequences. Sequences with one or both methyl groups exhibit very poor binding with DAPI, while those containing a single fluorine behave essentially like native carbonyl-containing sequences. With both fluorines present, KD values were observed to increase by a moderate 3-fold at 100 mM NaCl and somewhat more at 200 mM NaCl. Binding affinities with both methyl groups present were 500-1000-fold weaker than native. The results suggest that organofluorines can function as hydrogen-bond acceptors, at least in the bifurcated interaction that contributes to minor groove binding by DAPI.