DNA‐Templated Synthesis of Trimethine Cyanine Dyes: A Versatile Fluorogenic Reaction for Sensing G‐Quadruplex Formation

Abstract

A healthy glow: Fluorogenic peptide nucleic acids (PNAs) functionalized with indoline derivatives are used to specifically sense G-quadruplex formation. Upon hybridization of both PNAs to the single-stranded flanking arms of quadruplex DNA (see scheme), the synthesis of a trimethine cyanine dye is templated. Dye formation can be detected by the appearance of a characteristic fluorescence signal.