Electrostatic Interactions in the Formation of DNA Complexes with Cis- and Trans-Isomers of Azobenzene-Containing Surfactants in Solutions with Di- and Trivalent Metal Ions

Nina A Kasyanenko; Irina A Silanteva; Pavel V Gabrusenok; Svetlana Santer; Andrei V Komolkin

doi:10.1021/acsomega.3c00419

Electrostatic Interactions in the Formation of DNA Complexes with Cis- and Trans-Isomers of Azobenzene-Containing Surfactants in Solutions with Di- and Trivalent Metal Ions

ACS Omega. 2023 Apr 14;8(16):14597-14609. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.3c00419. eCollection 2023 Apr 25.

Authors

Nina A Kasyanenko¹, Irina A Silanteva¹, Pavel V Gabrusenok¹, Svetlana Santer², Andrei V Komolkin¹

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Physics, Saint Petersburg University, 7-9 Universitetskaya embankment, Saint Petersburg, 199034, Russia.
² Experimental Physics, Institute of Physics and Astronomy, University of Potsdam, Potsdam-Golm 14476, Germany.

Abstract

The effect of the presence of divalent and trivalent metal ions in solutions upon DNA packaging induced by the photosensitive azobenzene-containing surfactant is considered. It has been shown that the addition of divalent and trivalent metal ions does not affect the DNA-surfactant interaction for both the cis- and the trans-isomers of the surfactant. At the same time, the ionic strength of the solution, which is provided by a certain concentration of the salt, has a huge impact. It affects the association of surfactant molecules with each other and their binding to DNA. It has been shown by computer simulation that cobalt hexamine is attracted to the N7 atom of guanine in the major groove of DNA and does not penetrate into grooves near the AT base pairs.