Site-specific photosensitised modification of nucleic acids with biradical and electrophilic reagents

Photosensitised oxygen-independent chemical modification of nucleic acids including free-radical cycloaddition and electrophilic addition (type III photodynamic effect) are considered. The main attention is given to site-specific photomodification. New approaches to highly specific affinity modification of nucleic acids, viz., sensitised photomodification with binary photoreagent–sensitiser systems and two-photon photosensitised reactions, are described. The prospects for application of electrophilic photoreagents for in vivo modification of nucleic acids are discussed. The bibliography includes 119 references.