title: Oligothiophene molecular beacons.
abstract: Oligomers of thiophene are widely studied compounds for their electronic and optoelectronic properties. Despite their strong fluorescence, their use as markers for biomolecules, especially for oligonucleotides (ONs), is still largely unexplored. Here, we describe the synthesis of a series of ON molecular beacons employing different oligothiophenes as fluorescent probes and discuss their fluorescence emissions in comparative experiments with and without dabcyl as a quencher, in their hairpin and linear conformations, and as duplexes after hybridization with a complementary target.
authors.affiliation: Istituto per la Sintesi Organica e la Fotoreattività del Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cazzato
authors.forename: Massimo L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Capobianco
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zambianchi
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Favaretto
authors.forename: Cristian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bettini
authors.forename: Giovanna
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Barbarella
mesh_terms: D005453:Fluorescence; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D008958:Models, Molecular; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization; D015345:Oligonucleotide Probes / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D009841:Oligonucleotides / Q000737:chemistry; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence; D013876:Thiophenes / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D015345:Oligonucleotide Probes; D009841:Oligonucleotides; D013876:Thiophenes