This paper describes the results of a 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy study of a palindromic 8-base pair PNA duplex GGCATGCC in H2O and H2O-D2O solutions. The (1)H NMR peaks have been assigned for most of the protons of the six central base pairs, as well as for several amide protons of the backbone. The resulting 36 interbase and base-backbone distance restraints were used together with Watson-Crick restraints to generate the PNA duplex structure in the course of 10 independent simulated annealing runs followed by restrained molecular dynamics (MD) simulations in explicit water. The resulting PNA structures correspond to a P-type helix with helical parameters close to those observed in the crystal structures of PNA. Based on the current limited number of restraints obtained from NMR spectra, alternative structures obtained by MD from starting PNA models based on DNA cannot be ruled out and are also discussed.

We have determined the structure of a PNA-DNA duplex to 1.7 Å resolution by multiplewavelength anomalous diffraction on a zinc derivative. This structure represents the first highresolution view of a hybrid duplex containing a contiguous chiral PNA strand with complete γ-backbone modification ("γPNA"). Unlike the achiral counterpart, which adopts a random-fold, this particular γPNA is already preorganized into a right-handed helix as a single strand. The new structure illustrates the unique characteristics of this modified PNA, possessing conformational flexibility while maintaining sufficient structural integrity to ultimately adopt the preferred Phelical conformation upon hybridization with DNA. The unusual structural adaptability found in the γPNA strand is crucial for enabling the accommodation of backbone modifications while constraining conformational states. In conjunction with NMR analysis characterizing the structures and substructures of the individual building blocks, these results provide unprecedented insights into how this new class of chiral γPNA is preorganized and stabilized, before and after hybridization with a complementary DNA strand. Such knowledge is crucial for the future design and development of PNA for applications in biology, biotechnology and medicine.