G-Quadruplex Binding of an NIR Emitting Osmium Polypyridyl Probe Revealed by Solution NMR and Time-Resolved Infrared Studies.

G-quadruplexes are emerging targets in cancer research and understanding how diagnostic probes bind to DNA G-quadruplexes in solution is critical to the development of new molecular tools. In this study the binding of an enantiopure NIR emitting [Os(TAP) (dppz)] complex to different G-quadruplex structures formed by human telomer (hTel) and cMYC sequences in solution is reported. The combination of NMR and time-resolved infrared spectroscopic techniques reveals the sensitivity of the emission response to subtle changes in the binding environment of the complex. Similar behaviour is also observed for the related complex [Os(TAP) (dppp2)] upon quadruplex binding.