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Effect of Ultra-violet Light on the Shape and Size of Deoxyribonucleic Acid

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Abstract

SEVERAL investigators1,2 have found that the viscosity of solutions of deoxyribonucleic acid is reduced by irradiation with ultra-violet light of 254 mµ. This change could be the result either of main-chain scission which reduces the length of the molecules or of an increase in flexibility which allows the molecule to take up a more coiled configuration and thereby reduces the volume occupied in solution, as measured by the radius of gyration.

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References

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Author notes

  1. H. MOROSON: Public Health Service Research Fellow of the National Cancer Institute.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chester Beatty Research Institute, Royal Cancer Hospital, Fulham Road, London, S.W.3

    P. ALEXANDER & H. MOROSON

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  1. P. ALEXANDER
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  2. H. MOROSON
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ALEXANDER, P., MOROSON, H. Effect of Ultra-violet Light on the Shape and Size of Deoxyribonucleic Acid. Nature 185, 678–679 (1960). https://doi.org/10.1038/185678a0

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