Polymorphic forms of nucleic acids provide platforms for new nanomaterials, and transition metal cations give access to alternative arrangements of nucleobases by coordinating with electron-rich functional groups. Interaction of Ag(+) with 5'-guanosine monophosphate (5'-GMP) is considered in this work. Ag(+) promotes nucleotide stacking and aggregation, as indicated by the increased viscosity of 5'-GMP solutions with Ag(+), magnification of the circular dichroism response of guanine by Ag(+), and exothermic reactions between Ag(+) and guanine derivatives. Isothermal titration calorimetry studies show that the reaction is favored starting at 10 microM 5'-GMP. Utilizing the exothermic heat change associated with reaction of Ag(+) with 5'-GMP, local structure within the aggregate was assessed. On the basis of the salt dependence of the reaction and comparison with the corresponding nucleoside, the dianionic phosphate of 5'-GMP is one binding site for Ag(+), although this electrostatic interaction is not a dominant contribution to the overall heat change. Another binding site is the N7 on the nucleobase, as determined via studies with 7-deazaguanosine. Besides this binding site, Ag(+) also associates with the O6, as earlier studies deduced from the shift in the carbonyl stretching frequency associated with adduct formation. With these two binding sites on the nucleobase, the empirical stoichiometry of approximately 1 Ag(+):nucleobase derived from the calorimetry studies indicates that Ag(+) coordinates two nucleobases. The proposed structural model is a Ag(+)-mediated guanine dimer within a base stacked aggregate.