Enantiomeric conformation controls rate and yield of photoinduced electron transfer in DNA sensitized by Ru(II) dipyridophenazine complexes

Photosensitized oxidation of guanine is an important route to DNA damage. Ruthenium polypyridyls are very useful photosensitizers, as their reactivity and DNA-binding properties are readily tunable. Here we show a strong difference in the reactivity of the two enantiomers of [Ru(TAP)2(dppz)]2+, by using time-resolved visible and IR spectroscopy. This reveals that the photosensitized one-electron oxidation of guanine in three oligonucleotide sequences proceeds with similar rates and yields for bound Δ-[Ru(TAP)2(dppz)]2+, whereas those for the λ enantiomer are very sensitive to base sequence. It is proposed that these differences are due to preferences of each enantiomer for different binding sites in the duplex.