Polyamides containing
N-methylimidazole (Im) and
N-methylpyrrole (Py) amino acids can becombined in antiparallel side-by-side dimeric complexes for sequence-specific recognition in the minor grooveof DNA. Because the curvature of four or five contiguous Im-Py rings does not perfectly match the canonicalB-helix,
![](/images/gifchars/beta2.gif)
-alanine (
![](/images/gifchars/beta2.gif)
) residues have been inserted to reset the register. Complexes of three pyrrole-imidazolepolyamides of sequence composition ImPyPy-X-PyPyPy-Dp, where X = Py,
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, or glycine (G), bound to a 13base pair DNA duplex containing a 9 base pair 5'-TGTATATCA-3' match site were characterized by NMR.NMR titrations and NOESY data combined with restrained molecular modeling show that each polyamideadopts an extended antiparallel dimeric conformation with the ligands fully overlapped around a central Py/Py, G/G, or
![](/images/gifchars/beta2.gif)
/
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pair. Conformational exchange is seen near the linker for the G-linked complex, but not withthe
![](/images/gifchars/beta2.gif)
or Py linkers. In addition to providing the first direct structural evidence for formation of the aliphatic
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/
![](/images/gifchars/beta2.gif)
pairing in the minor groove, models support the idea that the
![](/images/gifchars/beta2.gif)
linker of ImPyPy-
![](/images/gifchars/beta2.gif)
-PyPyPy-Dp providesan optimal combination of size, flexibility, and alignment of the polyamide-paired aromatic subunits in extended,dimeric 2:1 complexes.