Porphyrins can catalyze the interconversion of DNA quadruplex structural types.

The binding of porphyrins to quadruplex DNAs provides a model system for the examination of drug binding to telomere, centromere, triplet repeat and other DNAs which may form quadruplex structures in vivo. Porphyrins, and certain other molecules that interact with quadruplex DNAs, have been shown to have significant biological activity. In this investigation the interactions of porphyrins with quadruplex DNAs have been examined by optical and NMR methods. The fluorescence of selected porphyrins can be used to discriminate between duplex and quadruplex DNAs. The fluorescence of the porphyrins can also be used to discriminate partially between the chair, basket and parallel stranded types of quadruplex DNA. At the relatively high DNA concentrations used in NMR, the porphyrins catalyze the conversion of both chair and basket type structures into parallel strand quadruplex DNAs. A DNA-porphyrin system has been found which appears to be a model for an intermediate of the catalytic pathway.