Going Platinum to the Tune of a Remarkable Guanine Quadruplex Binder: Solution‐ and Solid‐State Investigations

Guanine quadruplex recognition has gained increasing attention, inspired by the growing awareness of the key roles played by these non‐canonical nucleic acid architectures in cellular regulatory processes. We report here the solution and solid‐state studies of a novel planar platinum(II) complex that is easily assembled from a simple ligand, and exhibits notable binding affinity for guanine quadruplex structures, while maintaining good selectivity for guanine quadruplex over duplex structures. A crystal structure of this ligand complexed with a telomeric quadruplex confirms double end‐capping, with dimerization at the 5′ interface. A novel platinum complex, stacking onto guanine quadruplex faces with very high affinity, is described. With a strong tolerance for various quadruplex topologies and good selectivity for quadruplex vs. duplex structures, it provides a unique platform for further evolution, facilitated by the solved solid‐state structure with telomeric DNA.