LAUSR

Abstract The binding behavior of ritonavir (RTV), a HIV/AIDS protease inhibitor, with ct-DNA was characterized through multiple testing technologies and theoretical calculation. The findings revealed that the RTV–DNA complex was formed through the noncovalent interaction mainly including conventional hydrogen bonds and carbon hydrogen bonds as well as hydrophobic interactions (pi–alkyl interactions). The stoichiometry and binding constant of the RTV–DNA complex were 1:1 and 1.87 × 103 M−1 at 298 K, respectively, indicating that RTV has moderate affinity with ct-DNA. The findings confirmed that RTV binds to the minor groove of DNA. The outcomes of CD experiments showed that the binding with RTV changed the conformation of DNA slightly. However, the conformation of RTV had obvious changes after binding to DNA, meaning that the flexibility of RTV molecule played an important role in stabilizing the RTV–DNA complex. Meanwhile, the results of DFT calculation revealed that the RTV and DNA interaction caused the changes in the frontier molecular orbitals, dipole moment and atomic charge distribution of RTV, altering the chemical properties of RTV when it bound to DNA. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma