Study on the electrochemical behavior of anticancer herbal drug rutin and its interaction with DNA

In this paper, the electrochemical behavior of rutin and its interaction with DNA were investigated using voltammetry and spectroscopy. In 0.05 mol L−1 B–R buffer solution (50% ethanol, pH 5.02), rutin exhibited excellent electrochemical activity. In the presence of DNA, the peak current of rutin decreased in a quantitative fashion and the peak potential shifted to a more positive potential value in both cases of DNA in solution and modified on electrode surface by Langmuir–Blodgett technique, indicating the dominance of intercalative interaction. The binding of rutin with DNA, analyzed in terms of the cooperative Hill model, yields the association constant Ka = 1.58 × 105 and a Hill coefficient m = 2.09. The results serve as a reference for the study of rutin with DNA base pairs in the natural environment of living cells.