A number of amide-linked oligopyrroles based on distamycin molecules have been synthesized by solid-state methods, and their interactions with a human intramolecular G- quadruplex have been measured by a melting procedure. Several of these molecules show an enhanced ratio of quadruplex vs. duplex DNA binding compared to distamycin itself, including one with a 2, 5-disubstituted pyrrole group. Quadruplex affinity increases with ...