1H NMR study of complexation of ethidium bromide with single-stranded noncomplementary desoxytetranucleotide 5′-d(GpApApG) in aqueous solution

Complication of the ethidium bromide dye (3,8-diamino-6-phenyl-5-ethylphenanthridine) with single-stranded noncomplementary desaxytetranucleotide 5′-d(GpApApG) in aqueous salt solution was studied by one- and two-dimensional1H NMR (500 and 600 MHz). The concentration dependences of the proton chemical shifts of the reactant molecules were measured at different temperatures (T1 = 298 K, T2 = 308 K). Investigations of self-association of the tetranucleotide showed that duplices can hardly form in solution. Therefore, dye complexes with single-stranded tetranucleotide play a major role in the equilibrium in solution; this makes it possible to analyze the specifics of interactions of aromatic ligands with single-stranded DNA. Various schemes of complexation are discussed; the equilibrium constants and the limiting values of the proton chemical shifts of ethidium bromide in the complexes are determined. The constants of dye binding to the single-stranded tetranucleotide 5′-d(GAAG) involving only purine bases is approximately an order of magnitude lower than the constants of ethidium bromide complexation with desaxytetranucleotide monomers whose sequences contain alternating types of base in the chain. The relative contents of complexes of different types are analyzed, and peculiarities of dynamic equilibrium, depending on the ratio of concentrations between the dye and the tetranucleotide, are revealed. Based on the data obtained it is concluded that the binding between ethidium bromide and the single-stranded nucleotide is sequence-specific. The estimated values of the induced chemical shifts of the dye protons are used to establish the most probable structures of the 1:1 and 2:1 complexes of ethidium bromide with single-stranded desaxytetranucleotide.