Synthesis and properties of a new cleavable nucleic acid-protein crosslinking reagent

A new compound, dithiobis[9-(2-ethylenecarbamoylethylamino)-2,3-dimethoxy-6-azido-acridine], was synthesized and used in some preliminary experiments to form cleavable complexes between nucleic acids and proteins. In a first step the azidoacridine moiety of the reagent intercalates between the bases of nucleic acids and is then bound by reaction of the azido group. The disulfide group of the reagent is simultaneously converted under reducing conditions into a thiol which, in a second step, can be bound by oxidation to -SH groups of a vicinal protein (additional -SH groups can be inserted in the protein using 2-iminothiolane). The nucleic acid-protein complexes thus formed can be redissociated by reduction. The potential applications of this new cleavable crosslinking reagent could be extended to topographical investigations of any biological structure composed of nucleic acids and proteins.