Unravelling the cellular emission fingerprint of the benchmark G-quadruplex-interactive compound Phen-DC3

Abstract

Phen-DC₃ is among the most commonly used G-quadruplex (G4)-stabilizers in vitro and in cells. Here, we show that the G4-interactive binding interactions enable one to tune the optical properties of Phen-DC₃ allowing the detection of G4 structures in cancer cells. This work opens up new directions for the use of Phen-DC₃ as a selective G4 fluorescent reporter.