Study on the interactions of ruthenium(III), rhodium(III) and palladium(II) ions with DNA

Fluorescence, absorption and circular dichroism spectra have been used in the interactions of ruthenium(III), rhodium(III) and palladium(II) ions with DNA with berberine as a probe (berberine, Scheme 1). The results are as follows: ruthenium(III) and rhodium(III) ions show different effects from that of the palladium(II) ion on the fluorescence spectra characteristics of berberine-DNA system. Quenching fluorescence is seen with palladium(II) ion addition, whereas increasing fluorescence is observed for ruthenium(III) and rhodium(III) ions. The addition of ruthenium(III), rhodium(III) and palladium(II) ions causes the increasing absorption of the DNA solution. The addition of ruthenium(III), rhodium(III) and palladium(II) ions to the DNA solution also causes the circular dichroism spectra to change. The above results suggest that different metal ions exhibit different affinity when binding to DNA, which could correlate well with the ions' charge, structure and the ability to coordinate. There is a comparison between Pt(IV) and Pd(II) ions on the fluorescence of the berberine-DNA system.