Synthesis of novel monomeric cyanine dyes containing mercapto and thioacetyl substituents for nucleic acid detection

Fifteen novel mono-, di- and tricationic monomeric monomethine cyanine dyes, bearing mercapto and thioacetyl substituents, useful for nucleic acid detection are described. All derivatives absorb in the region 417–508 nm and have molar absorptivities of 61 000–101 300 l mol−1 cm−1. The products were characterized by 1H NMR, HPLC–MS and elemental analysis.