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New Possibilities of Investigating Nucleic Acids and Nucleoproteins in Aqueous Solutions by Infrared Spectroscopy

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Abstract

A NEW approach to the study of nucleic acid structure lies in the investigation of infrared spectra in the 950–1,350 cm−1 range where the main bands represent the sugar-phosphate backbone vibrations1. In principle, water transmittance in this region enables spectra of aqueous solutions to be obtained2 and the absence of strong protein bands provides a unique opportunity for investigating nucleic acid structure inside the nucleoprotein particles. We have carried out temperature-dependent measurements of DNA and RNA spectra both in the free state and within viruses. Our results show that the spectra reflect accurately the peculiarities of the sugar-phosphate skeleton of nucleic acids.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. D. I. Ivanovsky Institute of Virology, Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR, Moscow

    M. SHIE, I. G. KHARITONENKOV & T. I. TIKHONENKO

  2. Institute of Protein Research of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Poustchino, Moscow Region

    Yu. N. CHIRGADZE

Authors
  1. M. SHIE
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  2. I. G. KHARITONENKOV
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  3. T. I. TIKHONENKO
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  4. Yu. N. CHIRGADZE
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SHIE, M., KHARITONENKOV, I., TIKHONENKO, T. et al. New Possibilities of Investigating Nucleic Acids and Nucleoproteins in Aqueous Solutions by Infrared Spectroscopy. Nature 235, 386–388 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1038/235386a0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/235386a0

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