Eur. Phys. J. B (2014) 87: 199
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjb/e2014-50409-5

Regular Article

C₆₀ fullerene binding to DNA

Nanomechanics Group, School of Mathematical Sciences, The University of Adelaide, 5000 Adelaide, Australia

^a e-mail: mansoor.alshehri@adelaide.edu.au

Received: 18 June 2014
Received in final form: 14 July 2014
Published online: 9 September 2014

Abstract

Fullerenes have attracted considerable attention in various areas of science and technology. Owing to their exceptional physical, chemical, and biological properties, they have many applications, particularly in cosmetic and medical products. Using the Lennard-Jones 6-12 potential function and the continuum approximation, which assumes that intermolecular interactions can be approximated by average atomic surface densities, we determine the binding energies of a C₆₀ fullerene with respect to both single-strand and double-strand DNA molecules. We assume that all configurations are in a vacuum and that the C₆₀ fullerene is initially at rest. Double integrals are performed to determine the interaction energy of the system. We find that the C₆₀ fullerene binds to the double-strand DNA molecule, at either the major or minor grooves, with binding energies of −4.7 eV or −2.3 eV, respectively, and that the C₆₀ molecule binds to the single-strand DNA molecule with a binding energy of −1.6 eV. Our results suggest that the C₆₀ molecule is most likely to be linked to the major groove of the dsDNA molecule.