Molecular recognition of nucleic acids: Coralyne binds strongly to poly(A)

The small molecule coralyne was found to bind preferentially and strongly to single-stranded poly(A) with an apparent association constant (Ka) of (1.8 ± 0.3) × 106 M−1. Binding of coralyne to poly(A) is predominantly enthalpically driven with a stoichiometry of one coralyne per four adenine bases. Poly(A) forms a coralyne dependent secondary structure with a melting temperature of 60 °C, for the conditions of our study.