Intercalators Applications

Intercalators Applications

Currently, DNA intercalators are used in both antisense work and structural studies. For example, incorporation of acridine into oligos is attractive for antisense applications, because intercalation of acridine into the DNA-RNA duplex significantly increases the Tm (that is, enhances duplex stability) without affecting target specificity (2). Consequently, it becomes possible to use much shorter oligos as antisense moieties. Incorporating psoralen into oligos is attractive for cross-linking studies into nucleic acid secondary structure and protein-nucleic acid interactions. For more information on the uses of psoralen, see the applications section of the Cross-Linkers modification category.

References

(1) Sinha, R., Islam, M.M., Kakali, B., Gopinatha, S.K., Banerjee, A., Maiti, M. The binding of DNA intercalating and non-intercalating compounds to A-form and protonated form of poly(rC)-poly(rG): Spectroscopic and viscometric study. Bioorg. & Medic. Chem. (2006), 14: 800-814.
(2) Fukui, K., Tanaka, K. The Acridine Ring Selectively Intercalated into a DNA Helix at Various Types of Abasic Sites: Double Strand Formation and Photophysical Properties. Nucleic Acids Res. (1996), 24: 3962-3967.
(3) Salson-Behmoaras, T., Tocque, B., Rey, I., Casslgnol, M., Thuong, N-T., Helene, C. Short modified antisense oligonucleotides directed against Ha-ras point mutation induce selective cleavage of the mRNA and inhibit T24 cells proliferation. EMBO J. (1991), 10: 1111-1118.