Advantages of a DNA backbone over other organic backbones
Completion of a successful prototype combinatorial library
The Kool lab recently completed the synthesis of a high-yield library consisting of 256 different tetrafluors on polymer beads (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2002,124:11590-1). There were four individual fluorosides (D,Y,E,Q) used in all possible combinations in strings four units long. The tetrafluors were examined on the beads under a fluorescence microscope. Remarkably, approximately 50-100 different hues and intensities were visible by the naked eye, giving a very wide range of outcomes, and yet only four dyes make up this set. Several examples of polyfluors were selected and re-synthesized on preparative scale, and useful properties were observed. For example, a set of multiply-colored dyes with a single wavelength of excitation was found. In addition, dyes with exceptionally long Stokes shifts were found.
