Interaction between DNA and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

The results obtained in solubilization experiments of benzpyrene and dibenz-anthracene in DNA—water solutions, in conjunction with observed changes in the u.v. absorption and fluorescence spectra of benzpyrene, are reported. A mechanism is proposed to explain the interaction between aromatic hydrocarbons and DNA in terms of insertion of the aromatic molecules between the DNA bases in disordered “stretched” sections.