Anticancer Activity and DNA Binding of 4-Alkylenediamines Modified Naphthalimide Derivatives

Four naphthalimide derivatives 2-5 modified with various alkylenediamines at 4-position have been designed and synthesized. Their anticancer activities were preliminarily evaluated, which showed potent anticancer activities against A549 cell line with IC50 values lower than 5 mu M. Furthermore, the DNA binding properties of 2 with calf thymus (Ct) DNA were investigated by UV-Vis, fluorescence, and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopies and thermal denaturation experiment. The results showed that compound 2 as the DNA intercalator exhibited strong binding affinity with Ct-DNA.