Structural specificity of groove binding mechanism between imidazolium-based ionic liquids and DNA

The predicted capability of Ionic Liquids (ILs) in stabilizing the native structure of nucleic acids is relevant in biotechnology, especially for DNA storage and handling.

IIn the present work, we implement a joint combination of advanced spectroscopic techniques such as synchrotron radiation-UV Resonance Raman spectroscopy (SR-UVRR) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations for deepening insight into the sequence and structural specificity of the binding interactions between imidazolium-based ILs and both the phosphate groups and nucleobases in the minor and major grooves of double-stranded DNA. Our experimental and simulation findings consistently suggest the predominance of a groove binding mechanism between the imidazolium cations and dsDNA, with a preferential interaction established
between guanine residues and the imidazolium cations with shorter alkyl-chain length. This seems to be a common behavior observed for both short and large DNA molecules hydrated in imidazolium-based ILs.
SR-UVRR technique is able to differentiate contributions of single nucleobases interactions to the structural transformation of DNA duplexes during thermal pathway.


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J. Mol. Liq. 347, 118350 (2022) 
Last Updated on Wednesday, 16 March 2022 17:23