Fluorescence-Detected Circular Dichroism Spectroscopy for Analysis of Nucleic Acids: A Practical Guide and Review

Fluorescence-detected circular dichroism (FDCD) spectroscopy combines the structural sensitivity of circular dichroism spectroscopy, which is widely used to study the structures of biological macromolecules, with the sensitivity and selectivity of fluorescence detection. It has been used to study a variety of nucleic acid-based systems, including short RNA and DNA oligonucleotides, transfer RNA, DNA–dye complexes, and DNA-templated nanostructures. This chapter surveys both theoretical and experimental aspects of FDCD, with a focus on the features that are most relevant to the study of nucleic acids. The evolution of FDCD theory, instrumentation, and applications is surveyed, and foundational and recent works applying FDCD to nucleic acids are reviewed.