Issue 4, 2020

Studying the excited electronic states of guanine rich DNA quadruplexes by quantum mechanical methods: main achievements and perspectives

Abstract

The main insights into the photoactivated dynamics of guanine quadruplexes (G4s) recently provided by quantum mechanical computations are concisely reviewed here. The experimental steady state absorption and circular dichroism spectra of different topologies can be reproduced and assigned. After light absorption from excited states delocalized over multiple bases, the most important decay pathways involve localization of the excitation over a single base or on two stacked guanines, excimers with different degrees of charge transfer character. Two main photochemical reactions are discussed. One involves the photodimerization of two stacked guanine bases on the ‘neutral’ excimer path. The other, ionization of guanine, which triggers deprotonation of the resulting cation to form (G-H2)˙ and (G-H1)˙ radicals. Both the static and dynamical properties of G4 excited states are ruled by their topology and modulated by the inner coordinated metal ions.

Graphical abstract: Studying the excited electronic states of guanine rich DNA quadruplexes by quantum mechanical methods: main achievements and perspectives

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Perspective
Submitted
26 helmi 2020
Accepted
27 maalis 2020
First published
30 maalis 2020

Photochem. Photobiol. Sci., 2020,19, 436-444

Studying the excited electronic states of guanine rich DNA quadruplexes by quantum mechanical methods: main achievements and perspectives

L. Martínez-Fernández, L. Esposito and R. Improta, Photochem. Photobiol. Sci., 2020, 19, 436 DOI: 10.1039/D0PP00065E

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Spotlight

Advertisements