Interaction of paraquat with calf thymus DNA: a terbium(III) luminescent probe and multispectral study

Terbium(III), as a good luminescent probe, was developed for the study of the interaction between paraquat and calf thymus DNA (ctDNA) when the binding mode of small molecules to DNA was electrostatic binding. This interaction was further investigated using an ethidium bromide (EB) probe, UV absorption spectra, and circular dichroism spectra. On the basis of Scatchard plots constructed from fluorescence titration data of the ctDNA-Tb(3+) system in the presence of paraquat, the binding constants between paraquat and ctDNA were obtained. The results showed that the electrostatic attraction between positively charged sodium ion and negatively charged phosphate groups could inhibit the binding of paraquat to ctDNA, and competitive inhibition between Tb(3+) and paraquat also existed when they were bound to ctDNA. The effects of paraquat on the fluorescence intensity of the EB-ctDNA system indicated that the intercalation binding of paraquat to ctDNA could be excluded. This conclusion could be further supported by both the absorption spectra of paraquat in the presence of ctDNA and the CD spectra of the paraquat-ctDNA system.