Voltammetric studies of the interaction of genotoxic 2-nitrofluorene with DNA

•The negative effect of genotoxic 2-nitrofluorene was studied electrochemically.•Interaction of 2-nitrofluorene with DNA was investigated voltammetrically.•A hanging mercury drop electrode was used as a DNA biosensor transducer.•The formation of the DNA–2-nitrofluorene intercalation complex was confirmed.•DNA damage by electrochemically generated short-lived nitro radicals was observed. The interaction of genotoxic environmental pollutant 2-nitrofluorene (2-NF) with double-stranded DNA has been studied using a hanging mercury drop electrode (HMDE) as an electrochemical sensor. Two types of DNA damage were investigated and electrochemically detected using cyclic voltammetry and differential pulse voltammetry: (i) DNA damage caused by the direct interaction with 2-NF and (ii) DNA damage caused by short-lived radicals generated by the electrochemical reduction of 2-NF. For the study of the direct interaction, the HMDE was modified by DNA and the interaction of DNA with 2-NF was studied after their mutual interaction right at the HMDE surface, or DNA was preincubated with 2-NF in solution and, subsequently, the interaction was studied voltammetrically. Using both detection techniques, the formation of DNA–2-NF complex was observed and the mutual interaction was interpreted as an intercalation between DNA base pairs. On the basis of obtained results, we suppose that expected formation of 8-oxoguanosine leads to guanosine–cytidine base pair interruption and DNA double-strand break formation. The binding constants (K) of the DNA–2-NF complex formed in solution and on the HMDE surface (DNA/HMDE) were determined from the changes in the voltammetric peaks of the studied analyte.