Boronic acid-based fluorescent receptors for selective recognition of thymine glycol

Thymine glycol is the major oxidation product of thymine. The amount of thymine glycol present within cellular DNA is one marker of the extent of oxidative damage, and chemosensors for thymine glycol have therefore a number of potential applications. In continuation of our studies devoted to the detection of modified nucleosides, we report herein our results toward the fluorescence detection of thymine glycol at both the nucleoside and the oligonucleotide levels using boronic acid sensors. These receptors show significant fluorescence enhancements and high selectivities in aqueous conditions upon binding with thymine glycol.