ABSTRACT
This chapter provides thermodynamic, photophysical and photochemical data for psoralen deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) interactions in one place. An annotated critical review of these properties may yield new perspectives on structure-function relationships for the psoralens and hasten the development of new derivatives for clinical use. The photochemistry of psoralens has received much attention from both clinicians and scientists for two reasons. First, psoralen derivatives are widely used in the photochemotherapy of psoriasis and vitiligo. Second, psoralen derivatives have proved enormously useful in the elucidation of nucleic acid structure and function. The properties of psoralens should be interpreted from three converging perspectives: physical chemistry, photobiology, and molecular biology. Physical chemistry describes the dark interaction of psoralens with DNA, Photobiology encompasses the formation of the different photoadducts. Molecular biology incorporates the biological impact of these adducts as well as the effect of their repair, or lack thereof, in a biological system.
