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Updated: Oct 21, 2025

Single-Molecule Fluorescence Visualization of DNA Polymerase Dynamics at G-Quadruplexes
Published on: April 4, 2025
Vinylnaphthalene-bearing hexaoxazole as a fluorescence turn-on type G-quadruplex ligand
Yue Ma1, Yuki Wakabayashi2, Naruyuki Watatani2
1Institute of Global Innovation Research, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 2-24-16 Naka-cho, Koganei, To-kyo 184-8588, Japan. yue-ma@m2.tuat.ac.jp.
Abstract:
Oxazole-type fluorophores show an increase of fluorescence intensity upon interaction with nucleic acids, and therefore can be used as tools for nucleic acid-sensing and fluorescence imaging. Here, we developed a novel stilbene-type fluorophore, MO-VN (1), consisting of a mono oxazole bearing a vinyl naphthalene moiety. This compound (1) was embedded in a trioxazole 2 and a cyclic hexaoxazole 3a. The fluorescence properties of 1, 2, and 3a were evaluated in the presence of various nucleic acid sequences. Compound 3 showed significant fluorescent enhancement upon interacting with G-quadruplex (G4) structure, which plays critical roles in various biological phenomena. Further structural development focusing on the vinyl naphthalene moiety of 3a afforded a turn-on type G4 ligand 3e that shows G4-specific fluorescence. Measurement of the fluorescence of 3e during titration of a telomeric DNA, telo24, with its C-rich complementary sequence, which unwinds the G4 structure, allowed us to monitor the dynamics of G4.
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