A systematic comparative study on the binding of anticancer drug irinotecan (Irino) with dsDNA and ssDNA was investigated in phosphate buffer solutions using voltammetric and spectroscopic methods. The voltammetric results show that the Irino molecule, acting as an intercalator, is inserted into the base stacking domain of the DNA double helix and the strength of interaction is independent of the ionic strength. The hyperchromic effect observed in the UV-visible spectra of Irino in the presence of dsDNA provided the evidence for the intercalation of the drug chromophore with dsDNA base. The interaction mode of Irino molecules with ssDNA is electrostatic attraction via negative phosphate on the exterior of the ssDNA with Irino. The binding constants, stoichiometric coefficients and thermodynamic parameters of Irino-dsDNA and Irino-ssDNA complexes were evaluated. The magnitude of changes in ΔG o, ΔH o and ΔS o indicated that the binding process of Irino with ssDNA was more affected than that with dsDNA. The decrease of the peak current of Irino was proportional to DNA concentration, which was applied for determination of dsDNA and ssDNA concentration. The achieved limits of detection of dsDNA and ssDNA were 5.49 × 10-7 and 1.87 × 10-7 M, respectively.
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