A Localized Enantioselective Catalytic Site on Short DNA Sequences and Their Amphiphiles

A DNA-based artificial metalloenzyme (ArM) consisting of a copper­(II) complex of 4,4′-dimethyl-2,2′-bipyridine (dmbipy-Cu) bound to double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) as short as 8 base pairs with only 2 contiguous central pairs (G for guanine and C for cytosine) catalyzes the highly enantioselective Diels–Alder reaction, Michael addition, and Friedel–Crafts alkylation in water. Molecular simulations indicate that these minimal sequences provide a single site where dmbipy-Cu is groove-bound and able to function as an enantioselective catalyst. Enantioselective preference inverts when d-DNA is replaced with l-DNA. When the DNA is conjugated to a hydrophobic tail, the obtained ArMs exhibit enantioselective performance in a methanol–water mixture superior to that of non-amphiphilic dsDNA, and dsDNA-amphiphiles with more complex G•C-rich sequences.