[Recent advance of resonance light scattering technique for the determination of nucleic acids]

Nucleic acid analysis is one of the most important techniques for the study in biotic field. The spectrophotometry using inherent ultraviolet absorption spectrum of nucleic acids and the spectrofluorimetry based on the interaction of nucleic acids and fluorescence probes were usually used for nucleic acid analysis. However, the spectrophotometry was severely limited by its low sensitivity, and the spectrofluorimetry suffered from the disadvantages of high cost and toxic reagents. Recently, resonance light scattering has emerged as a new nucleic acid analysis technique. The resonance light scattering analysis is becoming increasingly important because high sensitivity can be obtained with a common spectrofluorimeter by using inexpensive and safe reagents. In this paper, the principle of resonance light scattering was briefly stated and the recent advances of the nucleic acid analysis by resonance light scattering were reviewed with 57 references. The resonance light scattering probes for nucleic acid analysis were divided into four groups: organic dyes; cation surfactants; metal ions and their complexes; and drugs. The light scattering analysis for nucleic acids based on the formation of large particles was also stated.