Cooperation of metal-ion fixation and target-site activation for efficient site-selective RNA scission.

Iminodiacetate-DNA conjugates and acridine-DNA conjugates were synthesized and combined for site-selective RNA hydrolysis by Lu(III). When these conjugates form a ternary complex with complementary RNA, the Lu(III)-iminodiacetate complex is placed near the target phosphodiester linkage of RNA which is in front of the acridine and is activated by noncovalent interactions. The site-selective hydrolysis by these combinations is several times as fast as that achieved by combining unmodified DNA (without iminodiacetate) and the acridine-DNA conjugate.