Crystallographic Studies on Copper Complexes of Nucleic Acid Components

  • Einar Sletten
Conference paper
Part of the The Jerusalem Symposia on Quantum Chemistry and Biochemistry book series (JSQC, volume 9-1)

Abstract

The biological functioning of the nucleic acids is supposed to involve the participation of metal ions. Certain metal ions stabilize the DNA double helix while others have a strong destabilizing effect. When DNA is denatured by heating in the presence of e.g. Cu2+ ions, the double helix is reversibly renatured by cooling and subsequent addition of electrolyte (Eichhorn and Shin, 1968). In the absence of metal ions the cooling process does not produce a reversible rewinding of the two strands. This phenomena is explained by copper ions forming crosslinks between the two strands in the unwound form so as to keep them in register, making a reversible rewinding possible (Geiduschek, 1962). Many metal ions are able to bind both phosphate and base sites, and their effect on DNA depends on their relative affinity for the two types of binding sites.

Keywords

Copper Complex Nucleoside Analogue Acta Cryst Pyrimidine Nucleoside Helical Chain 
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Copyright information

© D. Reidel Publishing Company 1977

Authors and Affiliations

  • Einar Sletten
    • 1
  1. 1.Dept. of ChemistryUniversity of BergenBergenNorway

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