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Principles of Fluorescence Spectroscopy

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714 DNA TECHNOLOGY<br />

Figure 21.19. Chemical structures <strong>of</strong> high-affinity DNA dyes: absorption (dashed) and emission (solid) spectra <strong>of</strong> the dyes bound to DNA. The relative<br />

enhancements <strong>of</strong> the fluorescence <strong>of</strong> the dyes on binding to DNA are (top to bottom) 35, 1,100, and 3,200. Data from [68].<br />

um bromide. 60–61 The ethidium dimer was found to bind<br />

DNA 10 3 to 10 4 more strongly than the monomer. 62 The<br />

homodimer <strong>of</strong> ethidium bromide (Figure 21.19) was found<br />

to remain bound to DNA during electrophoresis. This result<br />

is surprising because the positively charged dye is expected<br />

to migrate in the opposite direction from the DNA. This<br />

result suggests the dyes do not dissociate from DNA on the<br />

timescale <strong>of</strong> electrophoresis. The DNA fragments can be<br />

stained prior to electrophoresis and it is not necessary to<br />

maintain a micromolar concentration <strong>of</strong> free dye. The DNA<br />

gels display little background fluorescence, and the DNA<br />

fragments can be detected with high sensitivity.<br />

The usefulness <strong>of</strong> the EB homodimer resulted in further<br />

development <strong>of</strong> DNA dyes with high affinity for<br />

DNA. 63–70 The structures <strong>of</strong> several high-affinity dyes are<br />

shown in Figure 21.19. These dyes are positively charged<br />

and display large enhancements in fluorescence upon binding<br />

to DNA. The EB homodimer displays an enhancement<br />

<strong>of</strong> 35-fold, and TOTO-1 displays an enhancement <strong>of</strong> 1,100fold.<br />

The name TOTO is used to describe thiazole homodimers.<br />

The use <strong>of</strong> these dyes with pre-stain DNA fragments<br />

provided a 500-fold increase in sensitivity as compared<br />

with gels stained with ethidium bromide after electrophoresis.<br />

68 These dyes are widely used as DNA stains, and ana-

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