Kapteyn, Lauren, "Towards the Development of a Novel DNA Binding Fluorescent Cell Stain; An Analysis of Common DNA Dyes and Their Applications" (2018). Senior Honors Theses. 780.
Fluorescent deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) stains that permeate cells are used to observe cellular processes in vivo, making them valuable tools. For the proposal of a new stain, ethidium bromide, cyanine dyes, Hoechst stains, macarpine, DAPI and DRAQ5 are first examined. Features contributing to DNA binding mechanism, toxicity, and cell membrane transport are analyzed for these compounds. The mechanism of DNA binding contributes to the toxicity of the compound. For dyes with well-understood transport mechanisms, multi-drug protein transporters are vital players, though this remains an area for ongoing research as many mechanisms are not well studied. A novel anthraquinone-based compound is proposed and the DNA binding mechanism, cell permeability and fluorescence are predicted based on the traits of existing dyes.