New Way to Study DNA Binding is Created

U.S. researchers have discovered a method for studying the DNA binding of small molecules that provides unprecedented accuracy.

Northeastern University Professor Mark Williams and graduate student Ioana Vladescu said since molecules that bind through intercalation might interfere with important biochemical processes in replicating cells, their new method might be a useful tool for rational drug design targeting cancer, AIDS and other diseases.

In order to develop new drugs to treat cancer and other diseases, scientists need to better understand if and how these drugs will bind to DNA, said Williams. This new method allows us to examine intercalation in unprecedented and exquisite detail.

The complex process — developed by Williams, Vladescu and Micah McCauley, along with Megan Nunez from Mount Holyoke College and Ioulia Rouzina from the University of Minnesota — appears in the journal Nature Methods.