Targeting G-quadruplex structures with extrinsic fluorogenic dyes: promising fluorescence sensors

The research on the G-quadruplex DNAs has received much attention in recent years and numerous reports appeared probing their detection, structure, stability, reactivity, selectivity, etc. for the chemical intervention of their biological activity or sensor applications. This feature article provides an account of the recent reports from different research groups on the intriguing fluorescence properties showcased by certain fluorogenic dyes upon their binding to the G-quadruplex DNAs. Aptly, these selective and sensitive emission features demonstrated with structure specific G-quadruplex DNAs have been turned into label-free fluorescence-based detection methods for various metal ions and small biomolecules, down to the pico molar range, having promising bio-analytical applications. While the in vivo formation of G-quadruplexes is dynamically sensitive to the cell cycle, in tandem with the in vitro applications, it is essential to understand the factors that affect chemical, biological and genetic roles of the G-quadruplex structures plausible along the human genome. Towards this, the recent findings on the quantitative visualization of the quadruplex structures in the human cells using immunofluorescent probes open up avenues to explore highly specific quadruplex responsive agents for diagnostic and therapeutic applications, especially to develop a clinically viable method for cancer treatment.