Reframing Triazoloacridinone C-1305 as a G-Quadruplex Pharmacophore
H NMR and UV-Vis global analysis─converge on a well-defined 2:1 Pu22:C-1305 complex with submicromolar affinity and a distinctive ligand-induced "destabilize-refold" NMR signature. Variable-temperature NMR reveals pronounced thermal stabilization of Pu22 upon binding. Intermolecular NOEs together with 3D well-tempered metadynamics map a recognition mode dominated by end-stacking on both terminal G-tetrads, with flanking segments forming secondary pockets and enabling alternative bound substates. In cell assays, C-1305 shows low-micromolar cytotoxicity across multiple cancer cell lines while being markedly less toxic to normal cells, outperforming cisplatin in potency. These results reposition C-1305 from a putative GGG intercalator to a G4-targeting pharmacophore and outline a route to side-chain engineering for improved G4 selectivity.
Authors
- Monika Pawłowska (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5914-1591)
- Tomasz Laskowski (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4868-2381)
- Ewa Paluszkiewicz
- Julia Borzyszkowska-Bukowska (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6452-4573)
- Karolina Zielińska (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0013-4634)
- Julia Pakuła
- Rafał Tomaszczyk
Institutions
- Gdańsk University of Technology (PL)
- Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences (PL)
Publication Details
- Journal
- The Journal of Physical Chemistry B
- Published
- 2026-05-11
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcb.6c01505
- Primary Topic
- DNA and Nucleic Acid Chemistry
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Narodowe Centrum Nauki