Applications of 2D-IR Spectroscopy to Probe the Structural Dynamics of DNA

Ultrafast two-dimensional infrared (2D-IR) spectroscopy is a powerful probe of the structural and vibrational dynamics of proteins and enzymes in the solution phase. Until recently, relatively few applications of 2D-IR to DNA had been reported, but this is beginning to change rapidly, showing that the vibrational modes of DNA are sensitive reporters of base pairing and stacking and allowing site-specific probing of the nature of the complex interactions of the DNA macromolecule with its solvent environment. Most recently, 2D-IR spectroscopy has been used to probe the minor-groove ligand binding mechanism and reveals the melting of double-stranded DNA in real time, offering the potential for 2D-IR to provide mechanistic insight into the behavior of this most fundamental of biological molecules in the solution phase. The experimental methods used to obtain 2D-IR spectra are first described along with a discussion of the 2D-IR spectral features relevant to DNA studies before a review of the current state of the art of 2D-IR spectroscopy applications to DNA is presented.