Revisiting the effects of sequence and structure on the hydrogen bonding and π-stacking interactions in nucleic acids.

Calculated electron densities from PBE0/6-31+G(d,p) were analyzed with respect to the hydrogen bonding within a nucleic acid base pair and the π-stacking between sets of base pairs. From published X-ray crystallographic data, base pairs were isolated from a total of 11 DNA and RNA duplexes, and their experimental geometry was maintained throughout the analyses. Focusing solely on Watson-Crick base pairs, from the values of the electron density between interacting nuclei (at the bond critical points), we provide quantitative data on individual weak interactions.

New insights into the use of (TD-)DFT for geometries and electronic structures of constrained pi-stacked systems: [n.n]paracyclophanes.

We have evaluated the performance of three (TD-)DFT functionals with the 6-31+G(d,p) basis set for the reproduction of experimental geometries, vertical ionization potentials, and low excitation energies of a selection of [2.2] and [3.3]paracyclophanes.