Depending on how the individual runs of guanine bases are arranged in a bimolecular or intramolecular quadruplex, a quadruplex can adopt one of a number of topologies with varying loop configurations. If all strands of DNA proceed in the same direction, the quadruplex is termed parallel. For intramolecular quadruplexes, this means that any loop regions present must be of the propeller type, positioned to the sides of the quadruplex. If one or more of the runs of guanine bases has a 5’-3’ direction opposite to the other runs of guanine bases, the quadruplex is said to have adopted an antiparallel topology. The loops joining runs of guanine bases in intramolecular antiparallel quadruplexes are either diagonal, joining two diagonally opposite runs of guanine bases, or lateral (edgewise) type loops, joining two adjacent runs of guanine base pairs.