Coordination chemistry nucleic acid-metal interactions

Nucleic Acid Metal Ion Interactions Nutritional Aspects of Metals Trace Elements Peptide-Metal Interactions Zinc Enzymes Zinc Inorganic Coordination Chemistry. 

In this chapter we first summarize the basics needed to consider the interactions of metal ions and complexes with nucleic acids. What are the structures of nucleic acids What is the basic repertoire of modes of association and chemical reactions that occur between coordination complexes and polynucleotides We then consider in some detail the interaction of a simple family of coordination complexes, the tris(phenanthroline) metal complexes, with DNA and RNA to illustrate the techniques, questions, and applications of metal/nucleic-acid chemistry that are currently being explored. In this section, the focus on tris(phenanthroline) complexes serves as a springboard to compare and contrast studies of other, more intricately designed transition-metal complexes (in the next section) with nucleic acids. Last we consider how Nature uses metal ions and complexes in carrying out nucleic-acid chemistry. Here the principles, techniques, and fundamental coordination chemistry of metals with nucleic acids provide the foundation for our current understanding of how these fascinating and complex bioinorganic systems may function. 

Metal ions and complexes associate with DNA and RNA in a variety of ways, as illustrated in Figure 8.3. Both strong covalent interactions and weak nonco-valent complexes are observed. Each may yield a significant perturbation in the nucleic acid and/or may be exploited to obtain a site-specific response. Clearly there are some general guidelines, based on principles of coordination chemistry, that may be helpful in sorting out these interactions. 

Many of the same techniques employed in studying the basic chemistry of coordination complexes can be be used in following the binding of transition-metal complexes to nucleic acids, but biochemical methods, with their often exquisite sensitivity, become valuable aids as well in delineating specific binding interactions. Tris(phenanthroline) metal complexes are particularly useful to illustrate this point, since here the metal center in the complex is selected in terms of the technique used for examination. 

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