Findings from Federal University Vicosa Yields New Data on Antimalarial Agents [On the Subtle Competition Between Groove Binding and Intercalation of Small Drugs With Deoxyribonucleic Acid (Dna): the Case of Chloroquine].

A study conducted at Federal University Vicosa in Brazil examined the competition between two binding modes, intercalation and groove binding, of the antimalarial drug chloroquine with DNA. The researchers used single molecule force spectroscopy assays to determine the changes in mechanical parameters and the physical chemistry of the drug-DNA interactions. The presence of HEPES in the buffer, combined with NaCl, was found to modulate the interaction. This research provides insights into the role of driving forces in the balance between different binding modes. [Extracted from the article]