Green Synthesis of a Turn-Off Fluorescence Displacement Probe, Phen3DV, for the Study of Quadruplex Binding

"Turn-off" probes, which are quenched by their specific targets and "light up" again when displaced by a competitor, are attractive tools as they enable precise and reliable fluorescence displacement assays for a particular target with limited false positives. We report herein the facile synthesis and implementation of a new styryl-based "turn-off" probe for nucleic acids folded in quadruplex forms, which is conveniently prepared with readily available starting materials, green conditions, and simple synthetic procedures, for facilitated adoption in biophysical assays.