INTERACTIONS OF METAL-IONS WITH NUCLEOTIDES AND NUCLEIC-ACIDS AND THEIR CONSTITUENTS

Nucleotides, due to their ambivalent properties towards metal ions, are a true challenge to coordination chemists. A metal ion may interact with the phosphate group(s), the sugar moiety, and the base residue of a nucleotide. Moreover, such a base residue itself is already ambivalent; e.g., an adenine residue offers to a metal ion the N-1, N-3, and N-7 sites for binding. It is the aim of this overview briefly to elucidate the binding properties of the various mentioned constituents and to consider 'recognition reactions' of nucleotides and nucleic acids. Which properties govern selectivity in Nature?