Visible light-controlled formation of G-quadruplexes

We report visible light control of G-quadruplex formation through direct functionalization of guanosine with ortho-substituted azobenzene (osAZO) and arylazopyrazole (AAP) photoswitches. The E isomers form D4-symmetric G-octamers, while the Z isomers induce disassembly.

Spectroscopic and theoretical analyses unravel distinct switching efficiencies, with the AAP derivative enabling near-quantitative reversible control. This is the first visible-light-controlled G-quadruplex assembly via direct guanine modification. The dataset is organized in three main folders, with the raw data corresponding to the figures in the main text and in the SI.