Halogen Bonds in Adenine-5-Bromouracil Complexes

Ab initio and density functional calculations were employed to investigate the bonding patterns in theadenine-5-bromouracil (AT+) complexes. It is shown that the Br atom in 5-bromouracil (T+) is involved in bonding both with the hydrogen atom of the amino group of adenine (A) and with N7(A) (or N1(A)). With this motif, the Br atom interacts with a nucleophile (H) in a "head-on" fashion and an electrophile(N) in a "side-on" fashion, forming both hydrogen and halogen bonds. Electrostatic attraction between the Br atom in T+ and N7 (or N1) of adenine was found via the electrostatic potential analysis. The existence of the Br···N interactions in the pairs was further conˉrmed by means of Bader's atoms in molecules theory. A bond critical point is identiˉed for the halogen bonds and the topological parameters at the bond critical point indicate the typical closed-shell interactions in the pairs. Natural bond orbital analysis suggests that the charge transfer from the lone pair of the nitrogen atom of adenine is mainly directed to the C-Br antibonding orbital. Finally, halogen bonds in the T+AT+A tetrads were also explored.