Cleavage of double helical DNA by methidium-propyl-EDTA-iron(II)

We report the synthesis of a simple bifunctional molecule, methidiumpropyl-EDTA (MPE) (1), which contains the DNA intercalator methidium covalently bound by a short hydrocarbon tether to the metal chelator EDT A. In the presence of ferrous ion and oxygen this reagent efficiently produces single-strand breaks and some double-strand breaks in double helical DNA.