Deciphering the effective sequestration of DNA bounded bioactive small molecule Safranin-O by non-ionic surfactant TX-114 and diminution its cytotoxicity

Abstract In this article, we have mentioned about the effective sequestration of Safranin-O (SO) from herring sperm deoxy ribonucleic acid (hsDNA) by non-ionic surfactant up to its critical micellar concentration (CMC). Triton X-114 (TX-114) used as sequestering agent, itself at a lower concentration compare to its CMC (0.2 mM) cannot sequester the drug SO from hsDNA. Though its sequestration ability would be dramatically increased when the concentration reach to CMC level. Due to the cytotoxicity of the non-ionic surfactant, use of such high concentration, may restrict its application as a sequestrating agent. However, the cytotoxicity of the surfactant could be minimize abruptly owing to the incorporation of SO into the interfacial region of the nonionic micelle. To disclose the sequestration phenomena of the model drug SO from hsDNA by TX-114, we have used different spectroscopic techniques such as steady-state absorption, emission and time-resolved fluorescence along with voltammetric and molecular modeling study. It is observed that the extent of sequestration of the SO molecule which is partially intercalated into the DNA base pair can be excellently regulate by regulating the concentration of the TX-114. Thus the study is desirably stimulate the generation of finding effective sequestration of the DNA intercalated molecule by neutral micelle-media and may be helpful in the application like detoxification of excess drugs.