Extended Naphthalene Diimides with Donor/Acceptor Hydrogen-Bonding Properties Targeting G-Quadruplex Nucleic Acids

Naphthalene diimides with one or two centrosymmetric arylethynyl moieties capable of synergic donor and acceptor hydrogen bonding exhibit promising binding properties and selectivity towards parallel G-quadruplex (G4) nucleic acids (c-myc, bcl-2 and parallel hTel22). The hydrogen-bonding network involving the phosphate backbone and outside rim of the G-quartet represents an opportunity to exploit G4 selectivity for extended aromatics.