The group trend of lanthanides binding to DNA and DNAzymes with a complex but symmetric pattern.

Using sensitized Tb(3+) luminescence spectroscopy as a tool, binding of 14 lanthanides to a lanthanide-dependent DNAzyme is studied, where the binding affinity is symmetric across the series and the tightest binding occurs with Nd(3+) and Ho(3+). This trend does not correlate with DNAzyme activity, suggesting that metal binding may not be the rate-limiting step of the DNAzyme catalysis.