Alternative DNA base pairing through metal coordination.

Base-pairing in the naturally occurring DNA and RNA oligonucleotide duplexes is based on π-stacking, hydrogen bonding, and shape complementarity between the nucleobases adenine, thymine, guanine, and cytosine as well as on the hydrophobic-hydrophilic balance in aqueous media. This complex system of multiple supramolecular interactions is the product of a long-term evolutionary process and thus highly optimized to serve its biological functions such as information storage and processing. After the successful implementation of automated DNA synthesis, chemists have begun to introduce artificial modifications inside the core of the DNA double helix in order to study various aspects of base pairing, generate new base pairs orthogonal to the natural ones, and equip the biopolymer with entirely new functions. The idea to replace the hydrogen bonding interactions with metal coordination between ligand-like nucleosides and suitable transition metal ions culminated in the development of a plethora of artificial base-pairing systems termed "metal base-pairs" which were shown to strongly enhance the DNA duplex stability. Furthermore, they show great potential for the use of DNA as a molecular wire in nanoscale electronic architectures. Although single electrons have proven to be transmitted by natural DNA over a distance of several base pairs, the high ohmic resistance of unmodified oligonucleotides was identified as a serious obstacle. By exchanging some or all of the Watson-Crick base pairs in DNA with metal complexes, this problem may be solved. In the future, these research efforts are supposed to lead to DNA-like materials with superior conductivity for nano-electronic applications. Other fields of potential application such as DNA-based supramolecular architecture and catalysis may be strongly influenced by these developments as well. This text is meant to illustrate the basic concepts of metal-base pairing and give an outline over recent developments in this field.