Synthesis and Photophysical Properties of Fluorescence Molecular Probe for Turn-ON-Type Detection of Cytosine Bulge DNA.

A fluorescent molecule DANP that binds to cytosine bulge DNA and emits characteristic fluorescence was conjugated to pyrene to give a new fluorescence probe PyDANP. Temperature- and solvent-dependent absorption changes showed that DANP and pyrene chromophores stacked at room temperature in an aqueous buffer solution and quenched fluorescence. Upon binding of DANP moiety in PyDANP to cytosine bulge DNA, the fluorescence from DANP bound to C-bulge increased by ∼12-fold, showing that PyDANP is a turn-ON probe for the detection of C-bulge DNA.