Physiological-Temperature Distance Measurement in Nucleic Acid using Triarylmethyl-Based Spin Labels and Pulsed Dipolar EPR Spectroscopy

Resolving the nanometer-scale structure of biomolecules in natural conditions still remains a challenging task. We report the first distance measurement in nucleic acid at physiological temperature using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR). The model 10-mer DNA duplex has been labeled with reactive forms of triarylmethyl radicals and then immobilized on a sorbent in water solution and investigated by double quantum coherence EPR. We succeeded in development of optimal triarylmethyl-based labels, approach for site-directed spin labeling and efficient immobilization procedure that, working together, allowed us to measure as long distances as similar to 4.6 nm with high accuracy at 310 K (37 degrees C).