Steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence of tetramethylrhodamine attached to DNA: correlation with DNA sequences

Time-resolved fluorescence as well as steady-state absorption and fluorescence were detected in order to study the interactions between tetramethylrhodamine (TAMRA) and DNA when TAMRA was covalently labeled on single- and double-stranded oligonucleotides. Fluorescence intensity quenching and lifetime changes were characterized and correlated with different DNA sequences. The results demonstrated that the photoinduced electron transfer interaction between guanosine residues and TAMRA introduced a short lifetime fluorescence component when guanosine residues were at the TAMRA-attached terminal of the DNA sequences. The discrepancy of two-state and three-state models in previous studies was due to the DNA sequence selection and sensitivity of techniques used to detect the short lifetime component. The results will help the design of fluorescence-based experiments related to a dye labeled probe.