Study on the Interaction between Isatin-β-Thiosemicarbazone and Calf Thymus DNA by Spectroscopic Techniques

The interaction between isatin-β-thiosemicarbazone (IBT) and calf thymus DNA (CT-DNA) was investigated in physiological buffer (pH 7.4) using Neutral Red (NR) dye as a spectral probe by UV–Vis absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy, as well as viscosity measurements. The IBT is stabilized by intercalation in the DNA (K [IBT –DNA] = 1.03×105 M−1), and displaces the NR dye from the NR–DNA complex. The binding constants Kf and number of binding sites (n≈1) of IBT with DNA were obtained by fluorescence quenching method at different temperatures. Furthermore, the enthalpy and entropy of the reaction between IBT and CT-DNA showed that the reaction is enthalpy-favored and entropy-disfavored. The changes in the base stacking of CT-DNA upon the binding of IBT are reflected in the circular dichroic (CD) spectral studies. The viscosity increase of CT-DNA solution is another evidence to indicate that, IBT is able to be intercalated in the DNA base pairs.