We describe the binding characteristics of two natural borates (colemanite and ulexite) to calf thymus DNA by UV–vis absorbance spectroscopy, circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, and a competitive DNA binding assay. Our results suggest that colemanite and ulexite interact with calf thymus DNA under a non-intercalative mode of binding and do not alter the secondary structure of the DNA helix. The FT-IR spectroscopy results indicate that the two borates might interact with DNA through sugar-phosphate backbone binding. © 2015, Springer Science+Business Media New York.