The specific attachment of bathophenanthroline‐ruthenium(II) complexes as non‐radioactive label molecules to synthetically 5′‐NH2‐modified oligonucleotides is described. After excitation by light pulses, the fluorescence of these labels can be measured by a time‐resolved mode woth high sensitivity. No quenching takes place due to coupling of the Ru complexes to the DNA. Ru‐complex‐labelled oligonucleotides still hybridize specifically to complementary DNA sequences, and no quenching is observed in the course of the hybridization process.

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ChemInform Abstract The bathophenanthroline-Ru(II) complexes (I) are prepared by known methods. They contain one phenanthroline ligand with a linker arm and a terminal COOH group attached to it. The specific attachment of these Ru(II) complexes as non-radioactive label molecules to synthetically 5'-NH2-modified oligonucleotides is described using the complex esters of N-hydroxysuccinimide. After excitation by light pulses, the fluorescence of these labels can be measured by a time-resolved mode with high sensitivity. No quenching takes place due to coupling of the Ru complexes to the DNA. Ru-complex-labelled oligonucleotides still hybridize specifically to complementary DNA sequences, and no quenching is observed in the course of the hybridization process.