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Circular dichroism to determine binding mode and affinity of ligand–DNA interactions

Nature Protocols volume 2, pages 3166–3172 (2007)Cite this article

Abstract

Circular dichroism (CD) is a useful technique for an assessment of DNA-binding mode, being a more accessible, low-resolution complement to NMR and X-ray diffraction methods. Ligand–DNA interactions can be studied by virtue of the interpretation of induced ligand CD signals resulting from the coupling of electric transition moments of the ligand and DNA bases within the asymmetric DNA environment. This protocol outlines methods to determine the binding mode and affinity of ligand–DNA interactions and takes approximately 7.5 h.

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Figure 1: The interaction of berenil with calf thymus DNA in BPES buffer at 20 °C.
Figure 2: The interaction of ethidium bromide with calf thymus DNA in BPES buffer at 20 °C.
Figure 3: The DNA CD region.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. James Graham Brown Cancer Center, Health Sciences Campus, University of Louisville, 529 S. Jackson Street, Louisville, 40202, Kentucky, USA

    Nichola C Garbett, Patricia A Ragazzon & Jonathan B Chaires

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  1. Nichola C Garbett
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  2. Patricia A Ragazzon
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  3. Jonathan B Chaires
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Correspondence to Jonathan B Chaires.

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Garbett, N., Ragazzon, P. & Chaires, J. Circular dichroism to determine binding mode and affinity of ligand–DNA interactions. Nat Protoc 2, 3166–3172 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nprot.2007.475

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