Controlling electron rebound within four-base π-stacks in Z-DNA by changing the sugar moiety from deoxy- to ribonucleotide.

Charge transfer through DNA is of great interest because of the potential of DNA to be a building block for nanoelectronic sensors and devices. The photochemical reaction of 5-halouracil has been used for probing charge-transfer processes along DNA. We previously reported on unique charge transfer following photochemical reaction of 5-bromouracil within four-base π-stacks in Z-DNA. In this study, we incorporated a guanosine instead of a deoxyguanosine into Z-DNA, and found that electron transfer occurs in a different mechanism through four-base π-stacks.