1H NMR investigation of the hetero-association of phenanthridine dyes with Daunomycin: effect of substitution of amino with azido groups in the dye chromophore

Abstract

1H NMR spectroscopy at 500 Mhz has been used to determine the structures and thermodynamics in aqueous salt solution of the hetero-association of Daunomycin (DAU) with a series of phenanthridine dyes having different numbers of amino/azido groups in the chromophore, together with the self-association of the phenthridine dyes under the same solution conditions (0.1 M phosphate buffer, pD 7.1, 298 K). The NMR measurements have been analyzed using statistical-thermodynamical models of both self-association and hetero- association in which no limitation is set on the size of molecular stacks. In this work the magnitudes of the self-association parameters of Ethidium Bromide (EB) and its azido-derivatives, 8-azido-Ethidium Bromide (EMB) and 3,8-diazido-Ethidium Chloride (EDC), show a successive decrease with mono- and di-substitition of the 3,8-amino groups of EB. A similar pattern is observed for the equilibrium constants for hetero-association of the phenanthridines with DAU. The thermodynamical and structural parameters of hetero-association of the phenanthridines with DAU are consistent with an intermolecular hydrogen bond between the 3,8 amino-groups of EB and the 9MeCO group of DAU contributing to the stability of the hetero-complex in aqueous solution.