Highly Fluorescing Solid DNA-Cationic Polyelectrolyte Complexes Prepared from a Natural DNA and a Poly(fluorenevinylene-alt-phenylene) Bearing Quaternary Ammonium Pendants

Abstract

A fluorescing, copolymer (Q)-bearing, quaternary ammonium pendant was mixed with excess natural salmon sperm DNA with a molecular weight of 1.3x10(6)(2,000 base pairs) to afford highly fluorescing, complex mixtures. The fluorescence life-time of the polymer Q was greatly increased when mixed with DNA: for the mixture of Q:DNA=1:750 the fast and slow decay lifetimes increased from ca. 10 to 100 ps and from 20 ps to ca. 1 ns, respectively. The enhanced fluorescence of the mixtures was ascribed to efficient compartmentalization and reduced conformational relaxation of the polymer (c) by complexation with excess DNA.