Scheme 1.

Representation of the Eight Tridecameric Duplexes Studied Herein. Chemical structures of AP‐sites: (A) Natural; (B) Reduced; and, (C) Synthetic, F (tetrahydrofuran) [based on Ref. 64]. D, Parent tridecamer duplex comprised of a central CCC/GGG triplet. E, Central triplet designating the series of tridecameric duplexes characterized in this study including Watson‐Crick parent (CCC/GGG); single strand abasic sites (FCC/GGG, CFC/GGG, and CCF/GGG); bistrand abasic sites (5′‐staggered FCC/GFG, central CFC/GFG, and 3′‐staggered CCF/GFG); and, single abasic site (CCC/GFG) employed as a reference for bistrand‐AP duplexes