Synthesis, spectroscopic, physicochemical and structural characterization of tetrandrine-based macrocycles functionalized with acridine and anthracene groups: DNA binding and anti-proliferative activity

In this work we report on the synthesis and characterization of two new tetrandrine-based receptors and their binding properties towards a series of nucleotides and ds-DNA, in aqueous at pH = 7.2, by UV-Vis and fluorescence spectroscopy. Both receptors exhibit high affinity (K ∼ 105 M−1) and sequence selectivity for ds-DNA, in an intercalation binding mode. These studies were accompanied with single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis and molecular modelling. Additionally, the anti-proliferative studies of the derivatives on different cancer cell lines reveal promising activities of the compounds.221