title: Binding to the DNA minor groove by heterocyclic dications: from AT-specific monomers to GC recognition with dimers.
abstract: Compounds that bind in the DNA minor groove have provided critical information on DNA molecular recognition, have found extensive uses in biotechnology, and are providing clinically useful drugs against diseases as diverse as cancer and sleeping sickness. This review focuses on the development of clinically useful heterocyclic diamidine minor groove binders. These compounds have shown us that the classical model for minor groove binding in AT DNA sequences must be expanded in several ways: compounds with nonstandard shapes can bind strongly to the groove, water can be directly incorporated into the minor groove complex in an interfacial interaction, and the compounds can form cooperative stacked dimers to recognize GC and mixed AT/GC base pair sequences.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
authors.forename: Rupesh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nanjunda
authors.forename: W David
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Wilson
mesh_terms: D000578:Amidines / Q000737:chemistry; D020029:Base Pairing; D001483:Base Sequence; D001562:Benzimidazoles / Q000737:chemistry; D001665:Binding Sites; D002413:Cations, Divalent / Q000737:chemistry*; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry*; D059371:DNA, B-Form / Q000737:chemistry*; D019281:Dimerization; D006571:Heterocyclic Compounds / Q000737:chemistry; D008958:Models, Molecular; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D000578:Amidines; D001562:Benzimidazoles; D002413:Cations, Divalent; C506618:DB 911; C506617:DB 921; D059371:DNA, B-Form; D006571:Heterocyclic Compounds; D014867:Water; D004247:DNA