Abstract
Meso substituted cationic porphyrins are large, naturally occurring macrocylces that are highly substituted, thereby giving them a wide variety of unique properties including the ability bind to DNA. The degree of distortion of these porphyrins caused by peripheral substitution can determine each molecules particular type of binding to DNA sequences. Previous studies have shown that highly substituted porphyrins with less planar conformations (such as saddle, ruffle, wave, etc.) often have a harder time binding to regions of DNA due to an increase in steric clashes and a larger destabilization of the strand. This experiment’s focus is the relationship between conformation and specificity of substituted porphyrin binding to DNA strands. Through a detailed study of optimized porphyrin structures using molecular mechanics and semi empirical methods we can determine the most stable structure of each porphyrin as well as the stability and ease of each binding to predict if such binding could occur naturally within an organism.
Faculty Sponsors
Dr. Maria Ballester
Project Type
Event
Location
Alvin Sherman Library
Start Date
4-12-2013 1:00 PM
End Date
4-12-2013 5:30 PM
Porphyrin Geometry- Associated Energy and Binding Conformation
Alvin Sherman Library
Meso substituted cationic porphyrins are large, naturally occurring macrocylces that are highly substituted, thereby giving them a wide variety of unique properties including the ability bind to DNA. The degree of distortion of these porphyrins caused by peripheral substitution can determine each molecules particular type of binding to DNA sequences. Previous studies have shown that highly substituted porphyrins with less planar conformations (such as saddle, ruffle, wave, etc.) often have a harder time binding to regions of DNA due to an increase in steric clashes and a larger destabilization of the strand. This experiment’s focus is the relationship between conformation and specificity of substituted porphyrin binding to DNA strands. Through a detailed study of optimized porphyrin structures using molecular mechanics and semi empirical methods we can determine the most stable structure of each porphyrin as well as the stability and ease of each binding to predict if such binding could occur naturally within an organism.
