Influence of β‐Alanine on Hairpin Polyamide Orientation in the DNA Minor Groove

Antiparallel polyamides containing 1H‐pyrrole, 1H‐imidazole, and 3‐hydroxy‐1H‐pyrrole amino acids display a preference for minor‐groove binding oriented NC with respect to the 5′‐3′ direction of the DNA helix. We find that replacement of a central Py/Py pair with a β/β pair within a ten‐ring hairpin relaxes the orientation preference and, for some DNA sequences, causes the polyamide to prefer the opposite CN orientation. Substitution of the achiral γ‐aminobutanoic acid (γ) with either (R)(or S)‐2‐(acetylamino)‐4‐aminobutanoic acid moderates the orientation preference of the 2‐β‐2‐hairpin.