Study of the binding of jatrophone to Escherichia coli s-ribonucleic acid

The interaction of jatrophone with sRNA with sRNA from Escherichia coli has been investigated through UV, CD, and 1H NMR measurements. The results obtained show that the interaction with jatrophone increases the stability of the polynucleotide. It appears that the optical properties of jatrophone depend upon the jatrophone/nucleotide ratio. The observed behaviour can only be explained by the existence of different types of interaction between jatrophone and sRNA. Even for a jatrophone/nucleotide ratio as low as 0.17 the 1H NMR spectra show a multiplicity of resonances that can only be explained by the simultaneous existence of two different binding modes involving the jatrophone molecules.