Benzothiazole-substituted benzofuroquinolinium dye: a selective switch-on fluorescent probe for G-quadruplexElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Preparation, characterization, and photophysical properties for 1; fluorescent images of G-quadruplex in solution and in gel; cell images; binding studies by NMR and modeling. See DOI: 10.1039/c1cc00020a

A new switch-on fluorescent probe containing the natural product cryptolepine analogue benzofuroquinolinium moiety (binding scaffold) and a benzothiazole moiety (signalling unit) shows a remarkable fluorescence enhancement selective for the G-quadruplex nucleic acid structure. Binding studies revealed that the highly selective response of the fluorescent probe arises from end-stack binding to G-quadruplex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]