Linker replacement strategy

Alternatively to the DNA modifications in the previous two sections where the chromophore was attached to one of the four DNA bases, chromophores can be incorporated as artificial DNA bases substituting a natural base or even a whole base-pair. There is a large number of recently reported syntheses of chromophores as DNA base surrogates, e.g. flavine derivatives [26] and thiazole orange derivatives [42]. Additionally, a variety of phosphoramidites as DNA building blocks for the introduction of fluorophores into DNA are commercially available, e.g. acridine derivatives. Clearly, the synthetic protocols for this kind of DNA modification do not follow a principle strategy which can be applied in a versatile fashion, as is the case for the DNA base modifications mentioned in the previous sections. It is important to point out that in many cases it turned out to be useful to replace the 2 -deoxyribose moiety with acyclic linker systems. This was also the case during our attempts to synthesize ethidium-modified DNA, which will be described here briefly. 

New compounds derived from MPEP and MTEP are numerous, and the SAR directions can be generally divided into three strategies (a) variation of the aryl groups and their substituents, (b) replacement of the alkyne linker, and (c) fusion of the alkyne linker to one of the two aryl groups. Much of this work has been reported... 

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