A facile potassium 18-crown ether catalysed synthesis of 2,6-dicyanoaniline and 3-amino-9,10-dihydrophenanthrene-2,4 dicarbonitrile and their in vitro intercalation study on calf thymus DNA.

An efficient two-component domino reaction strategy has been developed for the synthesis of 2,6-dicyanoaniline and 3-amino-9,10-dihydrophenanthrene-2,4-dicarbonitrile derivatives in moderate to good yield by the reaction between malononitrile and β-chloro-α,β-unsaturated aldehydes catalyzed by potassium hydroxide-18-crown-6 in methanol. In-vitro intercalation studies of 3-amino-9,10-dihydrophenanthrene-2,4-dicarbonitriles with Calf-Thymus DNA have been carried out which reveal that the moiety interacts with an affinity greater than that of ethidium bromide (EtBr). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]