%0 Journal Article
%T Two Intercalation Mechanisms of Oxazole Yellow Dimer (YOYO-1) into DNA.
%A Kucharska K
%A Pilz M
%A Bielec K
%A Kalwarczyk T
%A Kuźma P
%A Hołyst R
%J Molecules
%V 26
%N 12
%D Jun 2021 19
%M 34205435
%F 4.927
%R 10.3390/molecules26123748
%X The oxazole yellow dye, YOYO-1 (a symmetric homodimer), is a commonly used molecule for staining DNA. We applied the brightness analysis to study the intercalation of YOYO-1 into the DNA. We distinguished two binding modes of the dye to dsDNA: mono-intercalation and bis-intercalation. Bis-intercalation consists of two consecutive mono-intercalation steps, characterised by two distinct equilibrium constants (with the average number of base pair per binding site equals 3.5): K1=3.36±0.43×107M-1 and K2=1.90±0.61×105M-1, respectively. Mono-intercalation dominates at high concentrations of YOYO-1. Bis-intercalation occurs at low concentrations.