Nucleic acid i-motif structures in analytical chemistry

Abstract

Under the appropriate experimental conditions of pH and temperature, cytosine-rich segments in DNA or RNA sequences may produce a characteristic folded structure known as an i-motif. Besides its potential role in vivo, which is still under investigation, this structure has attracted increasing interest in other fields due to its sharp, fast and reversible pH-driven conformational changes. This 'on/off' switch at molecular level is being used in nanotechnology and analytical chemistry to develop nanomachines and sensors, respectively. This paper presents a review of the latest applications of this structure in the field of chemical analysis.