Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD) Binding to Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA)
Experimental Biology and Medicine August 1, 1968 K. L. Yielding, H. Sterglanz 23 citations
Adding DNA, but not RNA, to solutions of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) lowered the drug's absorption and fluorescence spectra. The binding affinity between LSD and DNA had a dissociation constant (Kd) of 5 × 10⁻⁴ M, with each nucleotide residue serving as a potential binding site. Binding did not occur at pH 3, where DNA is nonhelical, and was reduced by heating the DNA beforehand or by adding magnesium chloride at 3.7 × 10⁻³ M.