Fluorescent Dye—Nucleic Acid Complexes

During the past 20 years, the interaction of fluorescent dyes with nucleic acids has evolved into one of the most active areas of research in biochemistry and biophysics with ramifications which touch on a wide variety of topics. These extend far beyond the cytological applications which originally drew the attention of biologists and range from structural studies of nucleic acids to molecular genetics and the action of antibiotics.