A new type of DNA-intercalating viologen dications, derived from the N,N'-dialkyl-6-(2-pyridyl)phenanthridine structure (in which dialkyl is -CH2CH2-, -CH2CH2CH2-, or (-CH3)2, abbreviated dq2pyp, dq3pyp, and Me2pyp, respectively), are able to produce frank strand breaks in supercoiled plasmid DNA upon irradiation with visible light. The amount of photocleavage is similar for the three drugs. The observed DNA photosensitization appears to follow a single-strand cleavage model, as shown by a kinetic analysis of the reaction with dq2pyp. The photodynamic action of the drugs seems to be initiated by a light-induced electron transfer reaction from the nucleobases, given the singlet excited-state redox potentials (ca. + 2.1 V vs. SHE) and the low quantum yields of singlet molecular oxygen production of the drugs (0.1-0.2 in aerated D20).
Key words. Intercalating viologen; DNA photocleavage;Photoinduced electron transfer reaction of Io 2 with guanine; (b) direct or OH'-mediated hydrogen abstraction from the deoxyribose moiety; (c) oxidation of guanine by the photoexcited drug. It is not uncommon to find the simultaneous participation of two of such processes in the sensitized photooxidation of nucleosides [4].In a recent paper [5], we have reported the intercalative interaction with DNA of a novel family of photoactive organic compounds, namely dialkylated 6-(2-pyridyl)phenanthridine (pyp) viologens (Scheme 1). The possibility of photochemistry with DNA was then suggested, based on their singlet excited state redox potentials and the efficient fluorescence quenching observed with GMP and AMP (kq = 1.2 x 10 l° and 6.8 x l09 M ~. s ], respectively). The goal of the present paper is to report the capability of dq2pyp, dq3pyp, and Me2pyp, to photosensitize DNA cleavage, as well as to obtain evidences about the possible mechanism responsible for their photodynamic activity.