New Anthraquinone Derivatives as Electrochemical Redox Indicators for the Visualization of the DNA Hybridization Process

Interactions of dsDNA and ssDNA, at the surface of gold and silver electrodes, with three novel anthraquinone derivatives: 3-(9',10'-dioxo-9',10'-dihydro-anthracen-1-yl)-7,11-di(carboxymethyl)-3,7,11-triazatridecanedioic acid, (AQ-1); 1-(9',10'-dioxo-9',10'-dihydro-anthracen-1yl)-9-carboxymethyl-5-methyl-1,5,9-triazaundecanoicacid, (AQ-2); and N-(2-(9,10-dioxo-9,10-dihydro-anthracen-1-ylamino)ethyl)-2-(1,4,10,13-tetraoxa-7,16-diazacyclooctadecan-7-yl) acetamide, (AQ-3) are studied. These derivatives are well soluble in water and phosphate buffer solutions. The square wave voltammetric behavior of these redox indicators is described and the parameters of interactions with DNA are reported. It is also pointed out that these compounds can be employed as the hybridization indicators. The difference in the binding ability of the particular redox indicator to single and double stranded DNA can be used for the detection of the complementary nucleic acids.