• tetraphenylethene
• polyamine
• g-quadruplex
• imotif
• DNA

In the initial phase of this master thesis, the focus lies on synthesizing and characterizing through spectroscopic analysis three polyamine tetraphenylethene (TPE) derivatives. This involves a detailed examination of their acid-base characteristics, aggregates size, and lipophilicity. Subsequently, the investigation progresses to explore the interactions between these TPE derivatives and non-canonical DNA structures using FRET Melting and FID assays. The objective is to employ these ligands as supramolecular probes for recognizing G-quadruplexes. Special attention is dedicated to investigating the interactions with G-quadruplex and i-motif structures identified in telomeres and the myc oncogene. These experimental analyses are conducted under various pH conditions, physiological and acidic one, to evaluate the interaction when the ligands are in different degree of protonation.