title: Formation and stability of a Janus-Wedge type of DNA triplex.
abstract: A new type of DNA targeting with the formation of a Janus-Wedge (J-W) triple helix is described. The "wedge" residue (W) attached to a PNA backbone is designed to insert itself into double-stranded DNA and base pair with both Watson-Crick faces. To study the stability of such an assembly, we have examined the formation of the J-W triplex with dC8 - T8 target sequence. The use of this target sequence permits the study of this new helix form without competing Watson-Crick interactions between the two target residues. Studies indicate that the W strand binds to both target strands, with defined polarity and a stability (-15.2 kcal/mol) that is roughly the sum of the two independent duplex interactions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Merkert Chemistry Center, Boston College, 2609 Beacon Street, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts 02467, USA.
authors.forename: Dongli
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Meena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Meena
authors.forename: Sunil K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.forename: Larry W
authors.initials: LW
authors.lastname: McLaughlin
mesh_terms: D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry*; D006860:Hydrogen Bonding; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D020135:Peptide Nucleic Acids / Q000737:chemistry; D013816:Thermodynamics
chemical_list: D020135:Peptide Nucleic Acids; C051802:triplex DNA; D004247:DNA