[Au(9-methylcaffein-8-ylidene) 2 ] + /DNA Tel23 System: Solution, Computational, and Biological Studies

International audience; Physicochemical methods have been used to investigate interactions occurring in solution between the dicarbene gold(I) complex [Au(9‐methylcaffein‐8‐ylidene)2]BF4 (AuNHC) and a human telomeric DNA sequence, namely Tel23. Circular dichroism measurements allow identification of the conformational changes experienced by Tel23 upon interaction with AuNHC, and the respective binding stoichiometries and constants were determined. Computational studies provide a good link between previous crystallographic results of the same system and the present solution data, offering an exhaustive description of the inherent noncovalent metallodrug–DNA interactions. Remarkably, we found…