Spectroscopic and calorimetric study of DNA interaction with a new series of actinocin derivatives

The results of investigations of the physical mechanisms of the interaction with DNA of a new series of biologically active actinocin derivatives with side chains of different length are discussed. The main goal of these studies is to understand the nature of the specificity of interaction between drugs and nucleic acids, taking into account the interaction of the individual components with Water molecules. The following experimental physical methods have been used to investigate this problem: UV-Visible spectrophotometry to study different modes of binding of ligands with DNA, infrared spectroscopy and piezogravimetry to give information on the influence of water in the formation of DNA-drug complexes, and differential scanning calorimetry to obtain direct data on the thermostability of such complexes. We have also used the method of computational analysis (Monte Carlo simulations) in order to determine the best molecular models for ligand-DNA complexation. It is expected that the results obtained by these methods will be useful for the rational design of drugs with high biological activity. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.