COVALENT BINDING OF ETHIDIUM AZIDE ANALOGS TO SALMONELLA DNA INVIVO - COMPETITION BY ETHIDIUM-BROMIDE

The photoreactive analogs of ethidium bromide (ethidium mono- and diazide) have been developed as drug probes to determine the actual molecular details of ethidium bromide interactions with DNA. In an effort to demonstrate that the analogs in fact mimic the parent ethidium, competition experiments were designed using 3H thymidine-labeled DNA in intact Salmonella TA1538, which is reverted by the azide analogs. 14C-labeled ethidium azide analogs were used in combination with the non-labeled ethidium bromide. The results presented here demonstrate that the parent ethidium competes with the azide analogs as a DNA intercalating drug using CsCl density gradient ultracentrifugation. © 1979.