| Abstract: | ABSTRACT Methylene blue (MB) binds to the double helical DNA with a high affinity, as deduced from the absorption and fluorescence spectral data. Extensive hypochromism and red shifts in the absorption spectra were observed when MB binds to calf thymus DNA(CT DNA), which suggested the intercalation mechanism of MB into DNA bases. Upon binding to DNA, the fluorescence from MB was efficiently quenched by the DNA bases, with no shifts in the emission maximum. The large increases in the polarization upon binding to CT DNA supported the intercalation of MB into the helix. Ferrocyanide quenching studies showed that the magnitude of Ksv of the bound MB was lower than that of the free MB. The results of competitive binding studies showed that ethidium bromide could be displaced by MB from ethidium-DNA complex. The results of all above further studies also proved the intercalation of MB into DNA base stack. |
