Towards Metal-Mediated G-Quartet Analogues: 1,2,4-Triazole Nucleotides

We proposed that metal-coordinating nucleotides could be used to control the assembly of G-quadruplexes through the formation of an artificial metal-centered quartet. Several guanine-rich DNA sequences containing 1,2,4-triazole-functionalized nucleotides were investigated. These oligonucleotides were designed to form quartets mediated by metal-triazole bonding both on the surface of and within the G-quadruplex core. In contrast to duplex studies in which 1,2,4-triazole nucleosides serve as a mimic of Watson-Crick base-pairs, our results show that these nucleosides are not suitable components of an artificial metal-centered quartet.