Photochemical and photophysical studies of 3-amino-6-iodoacridine and the inactivation of lambda phage

Synthetic, small-molecule photoantimicrobials - a realistic approach

The search for suitable, low-molecular weight photoantimicrobials for use in infection control has strong foundations in conventional antiseptic research from the early-mid 20^th Century. Many examples of dyes exist having conventional antimicrobial activity among the azine, acridine and triphenylmethane families which have since also been found to exhibit photosensitising capabilities. The prior employment of these examples in human antisepsis provides a practical basis in terms of low host toxicity, while extant structure-activity relationships for conventional antimicrobial activity can support the development of similar relationships for photoactivated cell killing. The range of chromophores covered allows progress to be made both in topical and deeper, fluid-involved infections.

Plasmid DNA breakage by decay of DNA-associated Auger electron emitters: approaches to analysis of experimental data

Plasmid DNA is a popular substrate for the assay of DNA strand breakage by a variety of agents. The use of the plasmid assay relies on the assumption that individual damaging events occur at random, which allows the application of Poisson statistics. This assumption is not valid in the case of damage arising from decay of DNA-associated Auger electron emitters, since a single decay event can generate a few breaks in the same DNA strand, which is indistinguishable from a single break in the assay. The consequent analytical difficulties are overcome by considering relaxation events rather than single-strand breaks, and linearization events rather than double-strand breaks. A further consideration is that apart from damage at the site of DNA-associated decay, which is the principal interest of the analysis, some DNA damage also arises from the radiation field created by all decay events. These two components of damage are referred to as internal and external breakage, respectively, and they can be separated in the analysis since their contribution depends on the experimental conditions. The DNA-binding ligand Hoechst 33258 labeled with 125I was used in our experiments to study breakage in pBR322 plasmid DNA arising from the decay of this Auger electron emitter. The values obtained for the efficiency (per decay) of plasmid relaxation and linearization by the 125I-labeled ligand were 0.090 +/- 0.035 and 0.82 +/- 0.04, respectively. When dimethylsulfoxide was included as a radical scavenger, the efficiency values for relaxation and linearization were 0.15 +/- 0.02 and 0.65 +/- 0.05, respectively.

Photoinduced cleavage of DNA by bromofluoroacetophenone-pyrrolecarboxamide conjugates

Bromofluoroacetophenone derivatives which produce fluorine substituted phenyl radicals that cleave DNA upon excitation were investigated as a novel photonuclease. Pyrrolecarboxamide-conjugated bromofluoroacetophenones; 4'-bromo-2'-fluoroacetophenone and 2'-bromo-4'-fluoroacetophenone were synthesized and their DNA cleaving activities and sequence selectivities were determined. Bromofluoroacetophenone-pyrrolecarboxamide conjugates were found to be effective DNA cleaving agents upon irradiation in concentration dependent manner based on plasma relaxation assay. The DNA cleaving activities of 2'-bromo-4'-fluoroacetophenone derivatives were larger than those of 4'-bromo-2'-fluoroacetophenone derivatives.

Photochemical electron transfer reactions of tirapazamine

The absorption and fluorescence spectra of 3-aminobenzo-1,2,4-triazine di-N-oxide (tirapazamine) have been recorded and exhibit a dependence on solvent that correlates with the Dimroth ET30 parameter. Time-dependent density functional theory calculations reveal that the transition of tirapazamine in the visible region is pi-->pi* in nature. The fluorescence lifetime is 98+/-2 ps in water. The fluorescence quantum yield is approximately 0.002 in water. The fluorescence of tirapazamine is efficiently quenched by electron donors via an electron-transfer process. Linear Stern-Volmer fluorescence quenching plots are observed with sodium azide, potassium thiocyanate, guanosine monophosphate and tryptophan (Trp) methyl ester hydrochloride. Guanosine monophosphate, tyrosine (Tyr) methyl ester hydrochloride and Trp methyl ester hydrochloride appear to quench the fluorescence at a rate greater than diffusion control implying that these substrates complex with tirapazamine in its ground state. This complexation was detected by absorption spectroscopy.

The abasic site as a target for generation of locally multiply damaged sites

Abasic sites in DNA have been specifically targeted by synthetic compounds able to cleave DNA at abasic sites and to induce photodamages in the vicinity of the lesion. The synthesis and the photoactivity of the drugs on abasic sites containing DNA and oligonucleotides are reported.

Bromoacetophenone-based photonucleases: photoinduced cleavage of DNA by 4'-bromoacetophenone-pyrrolecarboxamide conjugates

[formula: see text] 4'-Bromoacetophenone derivatives which upon excitation can generate monophenyl radicals capable of hydrogen atom abstraction were investigated as photoinducible DNA cleaving agents. Pyrrolecarboxamide-conjugated 4'-bromoacetophenones were synthesized, and their DNA cleaving activities and sequence selectivities were determined.

Selective photocleavage of DNA by anthraquinone derivatives: targeting the single-strand region of hairpin structures

A tetracationic anthraquinone derivative (27AQS2) binds to hairpin DNA and irradiation of the bound quinone leads to selective strand cleavage. NMR spectroscopy reveals that 27AQS2 binds at the loop and to the stem-loop junction of hairpin DNA. UV irradiation of the bound quinone causes cleavage of the DNA in the loop region and at guanines in the stem region. Inclusion of ethidium bromide in the reaction mixture leads to a greatly increased selectivity for loop cleavage. Spectroscopic and chemical evidence suggests a three component mechanism for reaction. The ability to target single-stranded regions of DNA structures is an important property of this photonuclease.