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Probing of DNA Structure with Osmium Tetroxide Complexes in Vitro and in Cells

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Nucleic Acids and Molecular Biology

Part of the book series: Nucleic Acids and Molecular Biology ((NUCLEIC,volume 8))

Abstract

Studies of the DNA polymorphic structure and especially supercoil-stabilized local DNA structures require highly sensitive techniques capable of recognizing small changes in the DNA double helix which may involve less than 1% of the DNA molecule and/or occur in only a fraction of the DNA molecule population. In recent years, it has been shown that chemical probes are highly suitable for this purpose (reviewed in Paleček 1991; Yagil 1991; Paleček et al. 1992). Among them, single-strand selective probes such as chloroacetaldehyde, diethyl pyrocarbonate, potassium permanganate, and osmium tetroxide complexes have been especially useful in the studies of various kinds of local DNA structures. Practical aspects and experimental details of this research have recently been described in Volume 212 B of Methods in Enzymology.

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Abbreviations

Os,L:

complex of osmium tetroxide with a nitrogen ligand

Os,py:

osmium tetroxide, pyridine

Os,bipy:

osmium tetroxide, 2,2′-bipyridine

Os,bpds:

osmium tetroxide, bathophenanthroline disulfonic acid

Os,TEMED:

osmium tetroxide tetramethylethylenediamine

Os,phe:

osmium tetroxide, 1,10-phenanthroline

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biophysics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, 612 65, Brno, Czech Republic

    E. Paleček

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  1. E. Paleček
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Max-Planck-Institut für Experimentelle Medizin, Hermann-Rein-Straße 3, 37075, Göttingen, Germany

    Fritz Eckstein

  2. Biochemistry Department, University of Dundee, Dundee, DD1 4HN, UK

    David M. J. Lilley

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© 1994 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Paleček, E. (1994). Probing of DNA Structure with Osmium Tetroxide Complexes in Vitro and in Cells. In: Eckstein, F., Lilley, D.M.J. (eds) Nucleic Acids and Molecular Biology. Nucleic Acids and Molecular Biology, vol 8. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-78666-2_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-78666-2_1

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-78668-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-78666-2

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