Proflavine–DNA Binding Using a Handheld Fluorescence Spectrometer: A Laboratory for Introductory Chemistry

Fluorescence spectrometers are expensive instruments and fluorimetry is rarely used in undergraduate teaching curricula, especially in the first year. The experiment described utilizes handheld spectrometers capable of measuring absorbance and fluorescence to introduce students to drug binding to DNA. Students monitor the changes that occur in fluorescence intensity when proflavine binds to DNA in the presence and absence of sodium ions. The goals of this experiment are to illustrate principles of electronic structure, noncovalent interactions, and spectroscopic techniques. The handheld device utilized in this experiment is inexpensive and the ease of operation makes fluorescence spectroscopy accessible and exciting to first-year undergraduates.