Abstract DNA-binding hairpin pyrrole–imidazole polyamides with γ-aminobutyric acid as a turn-forming residue tolerate A⋅ T or T⋅ A base pairs under the turn. U-pins—polyamides with a different turn—have been synthesized and their DNA binding properties were studied. The two turn-forming residues are connected via the ring nitrogens using variable length aliphatic linkers ((CH 2) n, n= 3–6). Through optimization of the linker length and the ...
