Fluorescence quenching and the binding interaction of lumichrome with nucleic acids

The interaction of lumichrome (LC) as an endogenous fluorescence probe with nucleobases, nucleosides and nucleic acids has been studied by UV-visible absorption, fluorescence spectroscopy, polarized fluorescence and viscosity. The fluorescence of LC was strongly quenched by a series of nucleic acids and their precursors. The influences of the medium, temperature and salt effects on LC-nucleobase and LC-nucleic acid complexes were investigated. The influences of polarized fluorescence, thermal denaturation and viscosity on LC-ctDNA interaction were examined. The results demonstrate that the main binding model of LC-ctDNA includes strong intercalating into the DNA helix chain.