Figure 5.

Spectroscopic-based measurements before (black) and after (red) the addition of SB to the cluster conjugate with G-S_A/S_B^s-TG₃ support relief of static quenching using strand exchange. Absorption spectra (A) show evidence of a shift in the electronic environment. Emission spectra (B) show fluorescence enhancement while the fluorescence lifetimes (C) are unchanged. The fluorescence lifetimes are 2.08 ± 0.03 ns and 2.05 ± 0.03 ns for the clusters bound to G-S_A/S_B^s-TG₃ and G-S_A/S_B, respectively, which are similar the lifetime of 2.11 ± 0.01 ns when using the C₃AC₃AC₃GC₃A template alone. The fluorescence enhancement (B) is accompanied by a transition from higher to lower contrast in the fluorescence correlation function (D), indicating an increase in the cluster concentration with strand exchange.