Application of a Highly Robust and Efficient Fluorescence-Resonance-Energy-Transfer (FRET) System in DNA

We report a feasibility study for the application of our newly developed highly efficient and robust fluorescence-resonance-energy-transfer (FRET) system to DNA. A 2′-oligodeoxynucleotide, 12, equipped with a quinolinone derivative as donor and a (bathophenanthroline)ruthenium(II) complex as acceptor and having a single uridine as potential cleavage site under basic conditions revealed an intensive FRET, which almost vanished after cleavage of the oligonucleotide under basic conditions (Fig. 7). Furthermore, in the arrangement of a molecular beacon (MB) DNA (see 13), a significant decrease of the FRET was observed after hybridization to a target sequence (Fig. 9). Due to the long decay times of the fluorescence of the Ru-complex, the system allows for highly sensitive time-gated measurements.