Interaction of β-Carbolines with DNA: Spectroscopic Studies, Correlation with Biological Activity and Molecular Docking

Quantitative interaction of twelve β-carboline derivatives with calf thymus deoxyribonucleic acid (ctDNA) using spectroscopic techniques was evaluated. The values of the binding constants (Kb) obtained for the complexes formed with the ctDNA ranged from 3.30 × 102 to 1.82 × 106 mol L−1, being the β-carbolines with the N,N-dimethylaminophenyl group at position 1 the ones which presented the highest Kb values. The binding mode between the β-carbolines evaluated and ctDNA was proposed from the KI assay, competition with ethidium bromide, and DNA thermal denaturation profile (Tm), where it was possible to infer that the evaluated alkaloids interact with ctDNA preferably via intercalation. Additionally, the correlation of Kb values obtained with the IC50 of seven human cancer cell lines was carried out. From this study, it was possible to observe a linear relation among most of the evaluated derivatives, obtaining r2 values from 0.5360 to 0.9600. In addition, in silico molecular docking was performed to corroborate the experimental results.