Binding characteristics of salbutamol with DNA by spectral methods

•DNA quenching the fluorescence of salbutamol was studied for the first time.•Binding constant, binding force and binding distance were determined.•Binding mode of salbutamol to DNA was groove binding.

Salbutamol interacting with deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) was examined by fluorescence, UV absorption, viscosity measurements, and DNA melting techniques. The binding constants and binding sites were obtained at different temperatures by fluorescence quenching. The Stern–Volmer plots showed that the quenching of fluorescence of salbutamol by DNA was a static quenching. To probe the binding mode, various analytical methods were performed and the results were as follows: hyperchromic effect was shown in the absorption spectra of salbutamol upon addition of DNA; there was no appreciable increase in melting temperature of DNA when salbutamol was presented in DNA solution; the fluorescence intensity of salbutamol–DNA decrease with the increasing ionic strength; the relative viscosity of DNA did not change in the presence of salbutamol; the binding constant of salbutamol with double strand DNA (dsDNA) was much higher than that of it with single strand DNA (ssDNA). All these results indicated that the binding mode of salbutamol to DNA should be groove binding. The thermodynamic parameters suggested that hydrogen bond or van der Waals force might play an important role in salbutamol binding to DNA. According to the Förster energy transference theory, the binding distance between the acceptor and donor was 3.70 nm.

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