Coordinatively unsaturated double-stranded helicates [(H2 L)2 Eu2 (NO3 )2 (H2 O)4 ](NO3 )4 , [(H2 L)2 Tb2 (H2 O)6 ](NO3 )6 , and [(H2 L)2 Tb2 (H2 O)6 ]Cl6 (H2 L=butanedioicacid-1,4-bis[2-(2-pyridinylmethylene)hydrazide]) are easily obtained by self-assembly from the ligand and the corresponding lanthanide(III) salts. The complexes are characterized by X-ray crystallography showing the helical arrangement of the ligands. Co-ligands at the metal ions can be easily substituted by appropriate anions. A specific luminescence response of AMP in presence of ADP, ATP, and other anions is observed. Specificity is assigned to the perfect size match of AMP to bridge the two metal centers and to replace quenching co-ligands in the coordination sphere.

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A theoretical description of aqueous hydration in the minor groove of a B-form DNA is presented on the basis of a liquid-state Monte Carlo computer simulation on a system consisting of the oligonucleotide duplex d(CGCGAAT-TCGCG)-d(GCGCTTAAGCGC) in a canonical B-form together with 1777 water molecules contained in a hexagonal prism cell and treated under periodic boundary conditions. The results are analyzed in terms of solvent density distributions. The calculated minor-groove solvent density shows considerable localization, indicative of discrete salvation sites and providing theoretical evidence for a well-defined ordered water structure. In the AATT sequence, this corresponds to the "spine of hydration" described by H. R. Drew and R. E. Dickerson [(1981) J. Mol. Biol. 151, 535-556] based on the x-ray crystal structure of the dodecamer hydrate. We find, however, that the calculated ordered water structure also extends into the CGCG flanking sequences, supported by the N2 hydrogen bond donors of the guanine residues and indicating that the spine of hydration could thus extend throughout the minor groove of a B-form DNA. This provides a possible explanation of the positive binding entropies observed by L. A. Marky and K. J. Breslauer [(1984) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 84, 43594363] for both A-T and C-G sequences on the complexation of netropsin to the minor groove of DNAs. Implications of these results with regard to the thermodynamic stability of DNA in water and the sequence specificity of the minor groove hydration are discussed.The DNA molecule is now well known to exist in a variety of conformational families, both right-handed (A, B, C, D, etc.) and left-handed (Z,, Z,,) helical duplexes (1). The relative stability of the various conformational forms of DNA is observed to be highly sensitive to environmental effectsi.e., hydration and ionic strength. Hydration, dehydration, and reorganization of the ion atmosphere are also important in the thermodynamics of protein binding to DNA and in drug-DNA interactions (2). Whereas a considerable literature on the environmental effects on DNA exists (1), our knowledge of detail at the molecular level is fairly sparse. Our principal source of information to date comes from the positions of ordered water molecules observed in x-ray crystallography of DNA oligonucleotides (3). Particularly, the dodecamer duplex d(CGCGAATFCGCG)-d(GCGCTT-AAGCGC) has been found by Dickerson and coworkers (4-6) to crystallize as a hydrate in the B-form of DNA, which corresponds closely to the Watson-Crick double helix and features a distinct parallel groove motif, alternating wide (major) with narrow (minor). Although the amount of water that turned out to be crystallographically ordered is small (-25%), interesting and provocative features of the hydration emerged, as discussed in detail by Drew and Dickerson (ref. 7, but see also ref. 8). In particular, an ordered water structure was discovered in the minor groove of the AATT region. It has been indicated that this so-calle...

Weak molecular and magnetic exchange interactions in ternary copper(II) complexes, viz., [Cu(L-phe)(phen)(H(2)O)]ClO(4) (1), [Cu(L-phe)(bpy)(H(2)O)]ClO(4) (2), and [Cu(L-his)(bpy)]ClO(4).1.5H(2)O (3), where L-phe = L-phenylalanine, L-his = L-histidine, phen = 1,10-phenanthroline, and bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine, have been investigated. Single-crystal X-ray structures reveal that complex 2 crystallizes in a monoclinic space group P2(1), with unit cell parameters a = 7.422(7) A, b = 11.397(5) A, c = 12.610(2) A, beta = 102.10(5) degrees, V = 1043.0(11) A(3), Z = 2, R = 0.0574, and R(w) = 0.1657. Complex 3 crystallizes in a monoclinic space group C2, with a = 18.834(6) A, b = 10.563(4) A, c = 11.039(3) A, beta = 115.23(2) degrees, V = 1986.6(11) A(3), Z = 4, R = 0.0466, and R(w) = 0.1211. Molecules of 2, in the solid state, are self-assembled via weak intra- and intermolecular pi-pi stacking and H-bonding interactions. Molecules of 3 exhibit intermolecular dimeric association with the Cu.Cu separation being 3.811 A. X-ray structures and (1)H NMR studies reveal conformational isomerism in both solid and liquid states of complexes 1 and 2. The aromatic side chain of L-phe in 1 and 2 adopts either a "folded" (A) or an "extended" (B) conformation. Variable-temperature (1)H NMR and spin lattice relaxation measurements point out interconversion between conformations A and B at temperatures above 323 K. The change in molecular conformation induces a change in the electron density at the site of copper and band gap energy between HOMO and LUMO orbitals. Interestingly, in spite of paramagnetic nature, complexes 1 and 2 are amenable for both EPR and (1)H NMR spectroscopic studies. Single-crystal EPR spectra of 2 in three orthogonal planes are consistent with three-dimensional magnetic behavior. Intramolecular exchange dominates the dipolar interactions. The EPR spectra of 3 correspond to weak magnetic interactions between associated dimeric units. The structural and magnetic resonance investigations together reveal that the weak pi-pi stacking interactions are the electronic pathways for magnetic interactions in 1-3.