DNA Mediated Energy Transfer from 4',6-Diamidino-2-phenylindole to tetra- and bis-cationic Porphyrins at Low Binding Densities

The fluorescence of 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) bound to DNA at a [DAPI]/[DNA base] ratio of 0.005 was quenched by meso-tetrakis(N-methylpyridinium-4-yl)porphyrin (TMPyP) or cis-bis(N-methylpyridinium-4-yl)porphyrin (BMPyP) when both DAPI and either porphyrin spontaneously bound to the same DNA strand. The quenching was investigated using the "one-dimensional inner sphere" and the "F$\ddot{o}$rster resonance energy transfer" (FRET) models. Total quenching occurred when DAPI and TMPyP were up to 19.3 base pairs or $66\AA$ apart. BMPyP could quench the fluorescence up to 13.9 base pairs or $47\AA$. TMPyP, which intercalated between the DNA base-pairs, appeared to be a better acceptor than BMPyP, which stacked along the DNA stem. The higher quenching and higher resonance energy transfer efficiency of TMPyP was due to the larger overlap integral between its absorption spectrum and the emission spectrum of DNA-bound DAPI.