Screening for sulfate in distillers dried grains and solubles by FT-IR spectroscopy

Deciphering the intercalative binding modes of benzoyl peroxide with calf thymus DNA

The binding of benzoyl peroxide (BPO), a flour brightener, with calf thymus DNA (ctDNA) was predicted by molecular simulation, and this were confirmed using multi-spectroscopic techniques and a chemometrics algorithm. The molecular docking result showed that BPO could insert into the base pairs of ctDNA, and the adenine bases were the preferential binding sites which were validated by the analysis of Fourier transform infrared spectra. The mode of binding of BPO with ctDNA was an intercalation as supported by the results from ctDNA melting and viscosity measurements, iodide quenching effects and competitive binding investigations. The circular dichroism and DNA cleavage assays indicated that BPO induced a conformational change from B-like DNA structure towards to A-like form, but did not lead to significant damage in the DNA. The complexation was driven mainly by hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions. Moreover, the ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopic data matrix was resolved by a multivariate curve resolution-alternating least-squares algorithm. The equilibrium concentration profiles for the components (BPO, ctDNA and BPO-ctDNA complex) were extracted from the highly overlapping composite response to quantitatively monitor the BPO-ctDNA interaction. This study has provided insights into the mechanism of the interaction of BPO with ctDNA and potential hazards of the food additive.

Deciphering the groove binding modes of tau-fluvalinate and flumethrin with calf thymus DNA

Tau-fluvalinate (TFL) and flumethrin (FL), widely used in agriculture and a class of synthetic pyrethroid pesticides with a similar structure, may cause a potential security risk. Herein, the modes of binding in vitro of TFL and FL with calf thymus DNA (ctDNA) were characterized by fluorescence, UV-vis absorption, circular dichroism (CD) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy with the aid of viscosity measurements, melting analyses and molecular docking studies. The fluorescence titration indicated that both TFL and FL bound to ctDNA forming complexes through hydrogen bonding and van der Waals forces. The binding constants of TFL and FL with ctDNA were in the range of 10(4)Lmol(-1), and FL exhibited a higher binding propensity than TFL. The iodide quenching effect, single/double-stranded DNA effects, and ctDNA melting and viscosity measurements demonstrated that the binding of both TFL and FL to ctDNA was groove mode. The FT-IR analyses suggested the A-T region of the minor groove of ctDNA as the preferential binding for TFL and FL, which was confirmed by the displacement assays with Hoechst 33258 probe, and the molecular docking visualized the specific binding. The changes in CD spectra indicated that both FL and TFL induced the perturbation on the base stacking and helicity of B-DNA, but the disturbance caused by FL was more obvious. Gel electrophoresis analyses indicated that both TFL and FL did not cause significant DNA cleavage. This study provides novel insights into the binding properties of TFL/FL with ctDNA and its toxic mechanisms.