Stacking interactions and DNA intercalation
- Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
- ORNL
- Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC
- Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden
- Rutgers University
The relationship between stacking interactions and the intercalation of proflavine and ellipticine within DNA is investigated using a nonempirical van der Waals density functional for the correlation energy. Our results, employing a binary stack model, highlight fundamental, qualitative differences between base-pair base-pair interactions and that of the stacked intercalator base pair system. Most notable result is the paucity of torque which so distinctively defines the Twist of DNA. Surprisingly, this model, when combined with a constraint on the twist of the surrounding base-pair steps to match the observed unwinding of the sugar-phosphate backbone, was sufficient for explaining the experimentally observed proflavine intercalator configuration. Our extensive mapping of the potential energy surface of base-pair intercalator interactions can provide valuable information for future nonempirical studies of DNA intercalation dynamics.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC)
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC05-00OR22725
- OSTI ID:
- 963922
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Physical Chemistry B, Vol. 113, Issue 32
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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