Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy for multiple-site equilibrium binding: a case of doxorubicin-DNA interaction

Phys Chem Chem Phys. 2019 Jan 21;21(3):1572-1577. doi: 10.1039/c8cp06752j. Epub 2019 Jan 8.

Abstract

Quantitative description of the interaction between doxorubicin (DOX), a broadly used anticancer drug, and DNA is the key to understand the action mechanism and side effects of its clinical use. However, the reported equilibrium constants of DOX-DNA interaction obtained using a range of different analytical methods vary even by several orders of magnitude. Herein, we propose a novel application of a single-molecule technique - fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) - to probe the interaction between DOX and two types of DNA (pUC19 and calf thymus DNA), taking advantage of intrinsic self-fluorescence of DOX. We provide an analytical formula for autocorrelation analysis to determine the equilibrium constant of DOX-DNA complex-formation, where binding of multiple DOX molecules to a DNA chain is included in the reaction-diffusion model. Our FCS-based method not only quantitatively revealed the values of equilibrium constant, but also implied that the stability of DOX-DNA complex is related to the types of base pair rather than the length or structure of the DNA. This work opens a promising pathway toward quantitative determination of molecular interactions in complex systems such as living cells or organisms at single-molecule level.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antibiotics, Antineoplastic / chemistry
  • Base Pairing
  • Binding Sites
  • Biochemical Phenomena
  • Cattle
  • DNA / chemistry*
  • DNA Adducts / chemistry*
  • Doxorubicin / chemistry*
  • Escherichia coli / genetics
  • Fluorescence
  • Intercalating Agents / chemistry*
  • Plasmids / chemistry*
  • Spectrometry, Fluorescence / methods

Substances

  • Antibiotics, Antineoplastic
  • DNA Adducts
  • Intercalating Agents
  • doxorubicin-DNA
  • Doxorubicin
  • DNA
  • calf thymus DNA