High-affinity sequence-selective DNA binding by iridium(<scp>iii</scp>) polypyridyl organometallopeptides

Abstract

We demonstrate the application of solid-phase peptide synthesis methods for the straightforward assembly of polynuclear Ir(III) organometallopeptides, and show that their oligoarginine derivatives exhibit high DNA binding affinity, sequence selectivity, and high cytotoxicity towards a set of cancer cell lines.