The study of G-quadruplex stabilizers

Human telomere consists of a series of DNA sequences rich in Guanine, which may form G-quadruplex structure. The formation and stabilization of the specific structure by small molecular compounds can not only inhibit the telomerase and disrupt the mechanism of the maintenance of telomere in cancer cells but also work as a probe for G-quedruplex on the research of the biological functions of G-quadruplex and diagnosis of relevant diseases. So the designing of stabilizers of G-quadruplex has been one of the focuses of chemical biology in recent years. The G-quadruplex stabilizers can be divided in two types up to now: small organic molecular compounds and metal complexes. This review focuses on the latest progress of the two parts, especially the latter one.