Intercalation (biochemistry)

Intensively studied DNA intercalators include berberine, ethidium bromide, proflavine, daunomycin, doxorubicin, and thalidomide.

Examples include doxorubicin (adriamycin) and daunorubicin (both of which are used in treatment of Hodgkin's lymphoma), and dactinomycin (used in Wilm's tumour, Ewing's Sarcoma, rhabdomyosarcoma).

Similarly, in the case of the intercalation of Thiazole Orange derivatives, the distance between the base pairs increased significantly, from ca.

These structural modifications can lead to functional changes, often to the inhibition of transcription and replication and DNA repair processes, which makes intercalators potent mutagens.

Intercalation as a mechanism of interaction between cationic, planar, polycyclic aromatic systems of the correct size (on the order of a base pair) was first proposed by Leonard Lerman in 1961.