Table 1. Ru(ii)–dppz complexes/PCP can be used as live-cell DNA probes with many unsurpassed characteristics, compared with the current commonly used organic DNA probes a .
| Ru(ii)–dppz a /PCP | DAPI | Hoechst 33342 | |
| Excitation/emission maximum (nm) | 445/620 | 358/461 b | 350/461 b |
| Stokes shift | >150 | 103 | 111 |
| TEM | + | – | – |
| Photo-bleaching | Low | High (1–2 min) | High |
| UV damage | – | + | + |
| Enantioselectivity | + | – | – |
| Cell permeable | + | –/+ | + |
| Living cell/fixed cell | +/+ | +/+ | +/+ |
| Binding mode | Intercalator c | MGB/AT preference b | MGB/AT preference b |
| Working concentration | 80 μg ml–1 | 0.5–10 μg ml–1 | 0.25–20 μg ml–1 |