Ta-Chau Chang

A CE-resonance Raman spectroscopy (CE-RRS) method based on MEKC and sweeping-MEKC modes is described. A nonfluorescent compound, malachite green (MG), and a doubled Nd:YAG laser (532 nm, 300 mW) were selected as model compound and light source, respectively. In order to carry out a quantitative analysis of MG, a monochromator (effective bandwidth, 0.4 nm) was used to collect the specific Raman line at 1616 cm(-1) (N-phi and C-C stretch, corresponding to 582 nm when the wavelength of the exciting source was 532 nm). As a result, the LOD for MG was 10 ppm, based on the MEKC/RRS mode. This could be improved to 5 ppb when the sweeping-MEKC/RRS mode was applied. Furthermore, with the addition of nano-size silver colloids to the CE buffer the detection limits can be further improved, but the data obtained with surface-enhanced resonance Raman spectroscopy (SERRS) are less useful for quantitative purposes.

A novel method based on emulsion/filtration is introduced for G-quadruplex DNA structural separation. We first synthesized a lipophilic analogue of BMVC, 3,6-Bis(1-methyl-4-vinylpyridinium)-9-(12'-bromododecyl) carbazole diiodide (BMVC-12C-Br), which can form an oil-in-water (o/w) phase emulsion. Due to the binding preferences of BMVC-12C-Br emulsion to some specific DNA structures, the large emulsion ( approximately 2 microm) bound DNA was separated from the small free DNA in the filtrate by a 0.22 microm pore size MCE membrane. This method is able to isolate the non-parallel G-quadruplexes from the parallel G-quadruplexes and the linear duplexes from both G-quadruplexes. In addition, this method allows us not only to determine the absence of the parallel G-quadruplexes of d(T(2)AG(3))(4) and the presence of the parallel G-quadruplexes of d(T(2)AG(3))(2) in K(+) solution, but also to verify structural conversion from antiparallel to parallel G-quadruplexes of d[AG(3)(T(2)AG(3))(3)] in K(+) solution under molecular PEG condition. Moreover, this emulsion can separate the non-parallel G-quadruplexes of d(G(3)CGCG(3)AGGAAG(5)CG(3)) monomer from the parallel G-quadruplexes of its dimer in K(+) solution. Together with NMR spectra, one can simplify the spectra for both the free DNA and the bound DNA to establish a spectrum-structure correlation for further structural analysis.

We have previously illustrated that the electron donor of carbazole moiety and the electron acceptor of methyl pyridinium cation in 3,6-bis(1-methyl-4-vinylpyridinium) carbazole diiodide (BMVC) molecule could form an intramolecular charge-transfer state. The intramolecular twist of the vinyl group in bridging the donor and acceptor plays an important role in the BMVC fluorescence. Here, we have synthesized three 9-aryl-substituted BMVC derivatives with different electronic properties for the design of the second generation of fluorescence probes. The steady-state solvatochromic studies show no appreciable change to the charge transfer of BMVC by substituting an anisole electron-donating group at 9-position of BMVC. However, substituting a 9-nitrobenzyl electron-withdrawing group in BMVC could restrict the charge transfer in the excited state. Moreover, the increase of the fluorescence yields of 9-anisole BMVC and 9-phenyl BMVC upon interaction with DNA is even higher than that in glycerol, while the fluorescence yield of 9-nitrobenzyl BMVC upon interaction with DNA is much lower than that in glycerol. Although 9-nitrobenzyl BMVC is a good G-quadruplex stabilizer, substituting an electron-withdrawing group at 9-position of BMVC is not recommended for the design of fluorescence probes. On the other hand, colocalization between 9-phenyl BMVC and MitoTracker Red in the merged image of cells indicates that the 9-phenyl BMVC is a potential fluorescent mitochondrial probe. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

ABSTRACT. The importance of guanine-quadruplex (G4) is not only in protecting the ends of chromosomes for human telomeres but also in regulating gene expression for several gene promoters. However, the existence of G4 structures in living cells is still in debate. A fluorescent probe, 3,6-bis(1-methyl-2-vinylpyridinium) carbazole diiodide (o-BMVC), for differentiating G4 structures from duplexes is characterized. o-BMVC has a large contrast in fluorescence decay time, binding affinity, and fluorescent intensity between G4 structures and duplexes, which makes it a good candidate for probing G4 DNA structures. The fluorescence decay time of o-BMVC upon interaction with G4 structures of telomeric G-rich sequences is ∼2.8  ns and that of interaction with the duplex structure of a calf thymus is ∼1.2  ns. By analyzing its fluorescence decay time and histogram, we were able to detect one G4 out of 1000 duplexes in vitro. Furthermore, by using fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy, we demonstrated an innovative methodology for visualizing the localization of G4 structures as well as mapping the localization of different G4 structures in living cells.

Guanine-rich oligonucleotides (GROs) are promising therapeutic candidate for cancer treatment and other biomedical application. We have introduced a G-quadruplex (G4) ligand, 3,6-bis(1-methyl-4-vinylpyridinium) carbazole diiodide, to monitor the cellular uptake of naked GROs and map their intracellular localizations in living cells by using confocal microscopy. The GROs that form parallel G4 structures, such as PU22, T40214 and AS1411, are detected mainly in the lysosome of CL1-0 lung cancer cells after incubation for 2 h. On the contrary, the GROs that form non-parallel G4 structures, such as human telomeres (HT23) and thrombin binding aptamer (TBA), are rarely detected in the lysosome, but found mainly in the mitochondria. Moreover, the fluorescence resonant energy transfer studies of fluorophore-labeled GROs show that the parallel G4 structures can be retained in CL1-0 cells, whereas the non-parallel G4 structures are likely distorted in CL1-0 cells after cellular uptake. Of interest is that the distorted G4 structure of HT23 from the non-parallel G4 structure can reform to a probable parallel G4 structure induced by a G4 ligand in CL1-0 living cells. These findings are valuable to the design and rationale behind the possible targeted drug delivery to specific cellular organelles using GROs.