Increasing the speed limit for hole transport in DNA

J Am Chem Soc. 2011 Aug 3;133(30):11485-7. doi: 10.1021/ja204815d. Epub 2011 Jul 8.

Abstract

Transport of positive charge or holes in DNA occurs via a thermally activated multi-step hopping mechanism. The fastest hopping rates reported to date are those for repeating poly(purine) sequences in which hopping occurs via a random walk mechanism with rate constants of k(hop) = 4.3 × 10(9) s(-1) for poly(dG) and 1.2 × 10(9) s(-1) for poly(dA). We report here the dynamics of charge separation in DNA conjugates possessing repeating 7-deazaadenine (dzA) sequences. These data provide an estimated value of k(hop) = 4.2 × 10(10) s(-1) for poly(dzA), an order of magnitude faster than for poly(dG).

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • DNA / chemistry*
  • Molecular Structure
  • Purines / chemistry

Substances

  • Purines
  • DNA