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International Journal of Molecular Sciences, Vol.4, No.10, 537-547, 2003
Structure of stacked dimers of N-methylated Watson-Crick adenine-thymine base pairs
The structure of two isomeric stacked dimers of Watson-Crick 9-methyladenine-1- methylthymine pairs was fully optimized using an approximate density functional theory (DFT) method augmented with an empirical dispersion interaction. The results of the calculations reveal that head-to-tail ( AT-TA) and head-to-head (AT-AT) dimers possess a significantly different geometry. The structure of both complexes is stabilized by vertical C-H...O and C-H...N hydrogen bonds with the participation of the hydrogen atoms of the methyl groups. The energy of hydrogen bonding and stacking interactions was additionally calculated using the MP2/6-31G*(0.25) method. Differences in the mutual arrangement of the base pairs in two isomeric dimers lead to significant changes of intra and interstrand stacking interaction energies.
Keywords:stacking dimers;adenine-thymine Watson-Crick base pair;structure;intermolecular interaction