SOME NEW METHYL-8-METHOXYPSORALENS - SYNTHESIS, PHOTOBINDING TO DNA, PHOTOBIOLOGICAL PROPERTIES AND MOLECULAR MODELING

The tricyclic structure of known natural photochemotherapeutic drugs s uch as 8-methoxypsoralen and 5-methoxypsoralen is often taken as a mod el in the search of new photosensitizer agents with less phototoxic an d mutagenic effects. This paper describes the synthesis, characterizat ion, photobinding to DNA, photobiological properties and computational chemistry of some 8-methoxypsoralen derivatives bearing two or three methyl groups at the key positions of the two photoactive double bonds . Results showed that photoreactivity and photobiological behaviour de pend on the pattern of methyl substitutions. Antiproliferative activit y in cell lines shows good correlation with DNA interaction data.