Spectroscopic and thermodynamic studies of DNA duplexes containing alpha-Anomeric C, A, and G nucleotides and polarity reversals: coexistence of localized parallel and antiparallel DNA

Three self-complementary DNA decamer duplexes that exhibit similar sequencing but contain a single alpha-anomeric nucleotide per strand are examined using enzymatic, spectroscopic and thermodynamic techniques. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopic data are utilized for the study. Results show all five constructs create stable duplexes and features similar to antiparallel B-DNA motif and Watson-Crick base pairings.