Elucidation of binding interactions and mechanism of rivastigmine tartrate with dsDNA via multi-spectroscopic, electrochemical, and molecular docking studies

•The binding mechanism of a small molecule such as rivastigmine tartrate to dsDNA has been investigated.•This binding mechanism was performed under physiological conditions using multispectroscopic techniques and molecular insertion studies.•It has been shown that in the formation of carbon-hydrogen bonds, the methyl hydrogen atoms of rivastigmine tartrate act as hydrogen bond donors, while the oxygen atoms adjacent to the carbonyl group act as hydrogen bond acceptors.•It has been demonstrated experimentally and theoretically that rivastigmine tartrate binds to dsDNA as a minor groove.