Mechanisms for Binding between Methylene Blue and DNA

We have used absorption and fl uorimetric methods to study the interaction between methylene blue (MB) and calfthymus DNA. Based on Scatchard analysis of the experimental data, we plotted the methylene blue-DNA binding curve. This curve consists of two linear sections, which indicates two types of interaction, for which we determined the constants K and the number of binding sites n for binding of this ligand to DNA. Comparison of the data obtained with analogous values found for interaction between ethidium bromide and DNA allowed us to conclude that there are two modes of interaction between methylene blue and DNA: strong binding (semi-intercalation) and weak binding (electrostatic).