Abstract
Heterogeneity of aqueous solutions of polythymidylic acid (poly-T) at room temperature is established by luminescence and absorption spectroscopy. It is found that there exist two fractions of thymine chromophores: (1) a photoactive fraction consisting of two types of stacking aggregates with a structure optimal for photodimerization, the first type having absorption bands at 250 and 280 nm (exciton splitting 4300 cm–1), and the second type, at 260 and 290 nm (exciton splitting 4000 cm–1), and (2) a photochemically intact fraction with an absorption maximum at 270 nm without evidence of exciton splitting, which probably consists of relatively isolated chromophores.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
H. C. Smith and Ph. C. Hanawalt, Molecular Photobiology (London, Academic, New York, 1969).
V. L. Rapoport, in Proceedings of the All-Union School-Seminar on Biomolecular Computing May 27–31, 1991, Moscow, p. 40.
Ei Yano and S. Tatsuura, Thin Solid Films 196, 147 (1991)
G. J. Fisher and H. E. Johns, in Photochemistry and Photobiology of Nucleic Acids (Academic, New York, 1976), Vol. 1, p. 225.
A. V. Borodavkin, E. I. Budovskii, Yu. V. Morozov, F. A. Savin, and N. A. Simukova, Electronic Structure, UV Absorption Spectra and Reactivity of Nucleic Acid Components, Vol. 14 of Molecular Biology Series (VINITI, Moscow, 1977), p. 228 [in Russian].
S. Y. Wang, in Photochemistry and Photobiology of Nucleic Acids (Academic, New York, 1976), Vol. 1, p. 296.
J. Eisinger and A. A. Lamola, Mol. Photochem. 1, 209 (1969).
M. Kasha, H. R. Rawls, and M. Ashraf El-Bayomi, Pure Appl. Chem. 11, 371 (1965).
V. L. Rapoport, V. M. Malkin, S. V. Zorina, S. M. Komarov, and V. V. Goryuchko, Dokl. Biochem. Biophys. 406, 23 (2006).
V. L. Rapoport and V. M. Malkin, Biophysics 53, 336 (2008).
V. M. Malkin and V. L. Rapoport, Khim. Fiz., No. 4, 3 (2003).
V. M. Malkin and V. L. Rapoport, Vestn. SPbU, Ser. 4: Fiz. Khim. 3 (18), 108 (1999).
R. A. Deering and R. B. Setlow, Biochim. Biophys. Acta 68, 526 (1963).
P. Vigny and J. P. Ballini, in Excited States in Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry (Dordrecht, 1977), p. 1.
V. M. Malkin and V. L. Rapoport, Biophysics 50, 874 (2005).
C. A. Parker, Photoluminescence of Solutions (Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1968).
N. K. Kochetkov, E. I. Budovskii, E. D. Sverdlov, N. A. Simukova, M. F. Turchinskii, and V. N. Shibanov, Organic Chemistry of Nucleic Acids (Moscow, 1970) [in Russian].
V. M. Malkin and V. L. Rapoport, Biophysics 44, 992 (1999).
R. Gerdill, Acta Crystallogr. 14, 333 (1961).
W. Saenger, Principles of Nucleic Acid Structure (Springer, New York, 1984).
A. Johnson and O. Wiest, J. Phys. Chem. B 111, 14398 (2007).
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We are grateful to V.V. Goryuchko for his help in preparation of graphic materials of this paper.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
Additional information
Translated by M. Basieva
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Malkin, V.M., Rapoport, V.L. Stacking Aggregation and Photodimerization of Thymine Chromophores in Aqueous Solutions of Polythymidylic Acid. Opt. Spectrosc. 130, 310–318 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0030400X22050034
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0030400X22050034