DNA binding activity of novel discotic phenathridine derivative

Abstract

Phenanthridine dyes are known for their stunning ability to bind with DNA through intercalation. They are widely used as the standard for DNA binding studies. In this report, we present the synthesis and characterization of a novel liquid crystalline phenanthridine derivative and its ability to bind with DNA. The Intrinsic binding constants Kb of compound 6 with CT–DNA was found to be 2.8 × 104 M−1 which is similar to the gold standard compound, ethidium bromide, binding constant. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on DNA binding studies of discotic mesogens in the field of liquid crystals.