Allosteric Control of Self‐Assembly: Modulating the Formation of Guanine Quadruplexes through Orthogonal Aromatic Interactions

Abstract

All four one: The covalent attachment (A) of a porphyrin head group onto a guanine-rich oligonucleotide strand can enhance the self-assembly of DNA quadruplexes through porphyrin-based π–π interactions (B). Modulation of these allosteric interactions, by addition of a porphyrin-complexing cyclodextrin derivative, allows for a high degree of control over the formation and disassembly of the guanine quadruplexes (C and D).