A review on advances in DNA-intercalators for sensor technologies: Mechanisms, applications, and innovations

DNA intercalators have attracted considerable attention in the field of sensor technology due to their unique ability to insert between base pairs of nucleic acids, resulting in measurable optical or electrochemical changes. Recent advancements in molecular biology, nanotechnology, and optoelectronic sensing have expanded the applications of DNA intercalators beyond anticancer drug development to include biosensing and environmental monitoring. They enable highly sensitive and specific detection of target molecules through fluorescence, colorimetric, and electrochemical signal transduction. However, comprehensive reviews on their role in sensing remain limited. This review summarizes their classification, mechanisms, recent biosensing applications, and future research directions.

DNA-intercalators, a class of molecules capable of inserting between and specifically binding to DNA double-helix base pairs, have attracted attention for their wide range of applications in molecular biology, drug discovery, and detection technologies. This paper reviews the origin and mechanisms of action of DNA intercalators, with a particular focus on their classification and recent advances in analytical and biomedical applications. DNA-intercalators have shown significant value in sensor development, especially in heavy metal ion detection, specific nucleic acid sequence recognition, and drug screening through fluorescence, colorimetric, and electrochemical signal transduction. Finally, the article summarizes the limitations of current research and looks forward to the development of novel low-toxicity insertion agents and multi-target detection platforms.

This review is significant for promoting the development of DNA-intercalators and provide a reference for the research and application of DNA-intercalators.