Ionic polymers comprising fluorescent or colored reporter groups

A polymer comprising:

• i) a backbone;
• ii) two or more positively charged moieties on the backbone;
• and
• iii) first and second colored or fluorescent moieties on the backbone,
• wherein the two or more positively charged moieties are in a position on the polymer backbone between the first and second colored or fluorescent moieties, and having the following structure (I):
• or a stereoisomer, salt or tautomer thereof, wherein:
• M is, at each occurrence, independently the fluorescent or colored moiety;
• P1 is, at each occurrence, independently one of the following structures:
• wherein:
• R is H or C1-C6 alkyl;
• x is an integer from 0 to 6;
• and
• m is an integer of 1 or greater, provided that m is selected such that P1 comprises at least two positively charged moieties;
• P2 is, at each occurrence, independently a section of the backbone to which the fluorescent or colored moiety is attached;
• L1 is at each occurrence, independently either:
• i) an optional alkylene, alkenylene, alkynylene, heteroalkylene, heteroalkenylene, heteroalkynylene or heteroatomic linker;
• or ii) a linker comprising a functional group capable of formation by reaction of two complementary reactive groups, wherein for at least one occurrence of L1, L1-M has one of the following structures:
• wherein L1a and L1b are each independently optional linkers;
• L2 is at each occurrence, independently absent, a section of the backbone or a linker linking P2 to R2 or P2 to R3;
• L3 is, at each occurrence, independently an optional linker linking P1 to P2;
• R2 and R3 are each independently H, OH, SH, alkyl, alkoxy, alkylether, heteroalkyl, —OP(═Ra)(Rb)Rc, Q or L′;
• Ra is O or S;
• Rb is OH, SH, O−, S−, ORd or SRd;
• Rc is OH, SH, O−, S−, ORd, OL′, SRd, alkyl, alkoxy, heteroalkyl, heteroalkoxy, alkylether, alkoxyalkylether, phosphate, thiophosphate, phosphoalkyl, thiophosphoalkyl, phosphoalkylether or thiophosphoalkylether;
• Rd is a counter ion;
• Q is, at each occurrence, independently a moiety comprising a sulfhydryl, disulfide, N-succinimide ester, imidoester, polyflourophenyl ester, isothiocyanate, alkyl azide, an acyl azide, alkyne, alkene, diene, dienophile, acid halide, sulfonyl halide, phosphine, α-haloamide, biotin, amino, maleimide functional group, or a moiety selected from one of the following structures:
• wherein:
• X is halo;
• and
• EWG is an electron withdrawing group;
• L′ is, at each occurrence, independently a linker comprising a covalent bond to Q, a linker comprising a covalent bond to a targeting moiety, a linker comprising a covalent bond to an analyte molecule, a linker comprising a covalent bond to a solid support, a linker comprising a covalent bond to a solid support residue, a linker comprising a covalent bond to a nucleoside or a linker comprising a covalent bond to a further compound of structure (I);
• and
• n is an integer of one or greater.