Current Chemicals Used for Probing DNA Conformational Changes and Detection of Unknown Mutations

Detection of unknown mutations is a key for success in diagnosis, treatment and therapy of many genetic diseases. Use of chemicals has been practiced for many years to probe the structural changes of DNA induced by a single base mismatch. This paper will review the current chemicals, such as carbodiimides, alkyl halides, aldehydes, oxidants, oxyamines, intercalators and groove binders, which have established the foundation for many useful applications in the areas of genetics and molecular biology.