Study on interaction of a cationic porphyrin with DNA.

Abstract

5,10,15,20-Tetra(N-methyl-pyridinium-4-yl)-21H,23H-porphyrin has shown to bind to the major groove of AT-rich DNA predominantly through electrostatic interaction between positively charged N-methyl pyridinium moieties of the porphyrin and negatively charged phosphodiester backbone. Solution structure of the complex between the porphyrin and a double-stranded DNA fragment has been inferred from the measurements of the mixing time-dependent intermolecular nuclear Overhauser effects (NOEs).