Synthesis, DNA binding, docking and photoclevage studies of novel benzo[b][1,8]naphthyridines

The synthesis and docking studies of novel benzo[b][1,8]naphthyridines is discribed. The docking studies show that the derivatives prefer to bind the AT-rich region of double stranded DNA (ds-DNA). The maximum binding energy -7.16 (kcal/mol) was observed for benzo[b][1,8]naphthyridine-5-thiol 5a and it is a better candidate as an enantioselective binder to ds-DNA than the other derivatives of benzo[b][1,8]naphthyridines. When photoirradiated at 365 nm, benzo[1,8]-naphthyridines have been found to promote the photocleavage of plasmid pUC19 DNA.