The interaction of 1,4-dihydroxyanthraquinone (DHA) with Y^3＋ was studied by UV-Vis, ¹H NMR, and FTIR. Y^3＋ and DHA can form one-dimensional chain coordination polymer Y-DHA with a 1∶1 stoichiometry. Y-DHA possesses better water solubility and shows stronger absorption in visible region than DHA. The interaction of Y-DHA and DHA with CT DNA was studied by UV-Vis, fluorescence spectra, and DNA melting temperature experiments. The results indicate that the groove binding and electrostatic interaction are the major modes for the association of Y-DHA with CT DNA, while groove binding is the mainly mode for the interaction of DHA with CT DNA. Voltammetry studies demonstrate that the reduction potential of Y-DHA (－0.324 V vs SCE) is more positive than that of DHA (－0.387 V vs SCE). Under anaerobic conditions, Y-DHA shows stronger DNA photocleavage ability than DHA.

Key words: anthraquinone, coordination polymer, DNA photocleavage, photo-induced electron transfer