Alteration of cytosine-guanine interactions due to N7 metal cation binding: a structure-activity relationship for cisplatin analogues

Metal cation binding to N7 of guanine (G) and the resulting altered interaction with cytosine (C) were investigated by ab initio quantum chemical calculations for the ions Li+, Na+, B+, Be2+, and Mg2+. It was found that the CG H-bonding interaction becomes more stable and the stacking interaction less stable as the charge density for the ion (ion charge/ionic radius) increases. From this observation a hypothesis is presented for a structure-activity relationship, which is supported by in vivo animal data, that may permit the design of less toxic analogues of the antitumor agent cisplatin.