Dinuclear lanthanum(III) complex for efficient hydrolysis of RNA.

A dinuclear La3+ complex hydrolyzes the phosphodiester bond in diribonucleotides efficiently under mild conditions. The rate of hydrolysis is remarkably accelerated on the complex formation between La3+ and TPHP (TPHP = N,N,N',N'-tetrakis [(2-pyridyl)methyl]-2-hydroxy-1,3-diaminopropane), and the highest activity is attained when the dinuclear structure is formed. The half-life of ApA hydrolysis by the dinuclear La3+ complex (1 mM) is 350 s, whereas that by the free La3+ ion (1 mM) is 23,000 s at pH 7.2 and 50 degrees C. The dinuclear La3+ complex is promising as a catalytic center of artificial nucleases.