Targeting an Artificial Metal Nuclease to DNA by aSimple Chemical Modification and Its Drastic Effect on Catalysis

A novel metal complex was synthesized containing a purine derived ligand in order to increase its binding to DNA. We observed a huge increase in nuclease activity and, quite interestingly, an improvement on DNA sequence selectivity. A potential site of specific cleavage in the presence of a reductant in the reaction medium is suggested. We were able to synthesize a novel metal nuclease with improved activity on DNA, and with sequence specificity when exposed to a coreactant, this opens up new possibilities to create site specific and redox status modulated artificial nucleases.