Synthesis of two new naphthalene-containing compounds and their bindings to human serum albumin.

Two naphthalene-containing compounds, 4-hydroxy-6,7-dimethoxy-1-(4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)-2-naphthoic acid (A) and 4-hydroxy-6,7-dimethoxy-1-phenyl-2-naphthoic acid (B), were prepared by several steps. Their bindings to human serum albumin (HSA) were studied by ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) absorption, fluorescence, synchronous fluorescence, three-dimensional fluorescence, circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopies and molecular docking. The crystal data of these compounds show the structure of the compounds. The results show that the mechanism of the interaction between compound A and HSA is mixed-quenching (both dynamic and static quenching), while that of compound B and HSA is static quenching. The number of binding sites, binding constants and binding distance (