The interaction of ruthenium polypyridyl complex with DNA has been studied by isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC). The results show that complex [Ru(phen)2PMIP]2+ {phen=1,10-phenanthroline, PMIP=2-(4-methylphenyl)imidazo1,10-phenanthroline} interacts with calf thymus DNA (CT DNA) in terms of a model for a single set of identical sites through intercalation. The results are in agreement with our previous observations from spectroscopic methods and viscosity measurements. In addition, the results further show that the driving force for DNA binding with the complex is mainly driven by the enthalpy changes, and the contribution from the entropy changes to this driving force is negligible.
