G-wireslong, continuous G-quadruplexesare a promising element for use in nanotechnology, particularly in molecular electronics. The pairing of G-quadruplex structures through complementary GC-termini was tested. We designed four analogous G-quadruplexforming oligonucleotides with the same core sequence d(GGTG 4 TGG) and with different number and position of GC-ends. We used circular dichroism to determine the topology and relative orientation of G-quadruplexes, 1 H NMR to identify Watson−Crick base pairing, and dynamic light scattering to examine the size of the G-quadruplex assemblies. The quadruplexes associated through GC-base pairs forming (G:C:G:C)-quartets and by stacking of unhindered terminal (G:G:G:G)-quartets. These two modes of association had different specificities: stacking occurred at both the 5′-and 3′-faces of the quadruplex, whereas GC-base pairing occurred only at the 5′-face of the quadruplex. These insights may be employed to design Gquadruplex-based nanowires or more complex architectures.
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