Nucleic Acids and Their Constituents

Capillary electrophoretic separation of nucleic acids has been reviewed (Cohen et al., 1987a Kuhr, 1990 Gebauer and Thormann, 1991). In nucleotide and nucleoside analysis, MEKC has been the method of choice, using SDS (Row et al. 1987 Cohen et al., 1987b Kasper et al., 1988), dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide, or hexadecyltriethylammonium bromide (Liu et al., 1989). Other applications concerning chemically modified nucleotides, nucleosides, and nucleobases can be found in papers by Lecoq et al. (1991) and Thormann et al. (1992). 

Special techniques were developed for the analysis of nucleotide phosphates. For the separation of these compounds, either dynamic pH gradient (Sustacek et al., 1989) or linear polyacrylamide-coated capillaries (Takigiku and Schneider, 1991) were used. In the latter case separations were done in the reversed-polarity mode (i.e., from cathode to anode). 

In forensic toxicology, these methods are potentially useful for detecting modified nucleotides and nucleosides in the middle of a large excess of the unmodified species present in biological materials. Knowledge of these properties may be useful for investigations into direct interactions of exogenous (e.g., environmental) toxicants with the DNA matrix. 

Recent experience with CE has shown that this analytical technique may compete with the polyacrylamide and agarose gel electrophoresis procedures in giving fast, reproducible, and reliable DNA strand separation. 

However, a price is paid in return for these advantages nongel sieving systems usually have a lower resolving power compared to gel-filled capillaries. The resolving power, however, depends on the nature of the nongel sieving medium, and a recently introduced polymeric hydroxyethylcellulose shows a separation power close to that of gel-filled capillaries (Nathakarnkitkool et al., 1992). 

LC-separation of low molecular-weight constituents of nucleic acids and intact nucleic acids was reviewed by Zadrazil [358,359], Brown [360] described an enzyme peak shift method verifying peak identities of nucleotides, Singhal [361] reviewed separation and analysis of nucleic acids and their constituents by ion-exclusion and ion exchange column chromatography, and Brown [31,362] summarized the latest developments and state-of-art in HPLC of nucleic acid constituents. Plunkett [363] dealt with the use of HPLC in research of purine nucleoside analogs. 

Ion exchange chromatography of miscellaneous biochemically important substances 

Mono- to pentasialogan-glioside fractions from human infant forebrain and cerebellum 

Mannosylretinyl phosphate from dolichylman-nosil phosphate separation 

Endogenous cytokinins from MercuriaUs annua shoots 

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Reaction of some transition metals with nucleic acids and their constituents. U. Weser, Struct. Bonding (Berlin), 1968, 5, 41-67 (108). 

Weser U (1967) Chemistry and Structure of some Borate Polyol Compounds. 2 160-180 Weser U (1968) Reaction of some Transition Metals with Nucleic Acids and Their Constituents. 5 41-67... 

Reaction of some Transition Metals with Nucleic Acids and their Constituents. Vol. 5, pp. 41-67. 

Metal Ions in Biological Systems. Volume 32. Interactions of Metal Ions with Nucleotides, Nucleic Acids, and their Constituents Ed. Sigel, A. Sigel, H. Marcel Dekker New York, 1996. 

The reader is referred to other reviews for detailed discussions of the electronic states and luminescence of nucleic acids and their constituents/0 fluorescence correlation spectroscopy/2) spectroscopy of dye/DNA complexes/0 and ethidium fluorescence assays/4,0 A brief review of early work on DNA dynamics as well as a review of tRNA kinetics and dynamics have also appeared. The diverse and voluminous literature on the use of fluorescence techniques to assay the binding of proteins and antitumor drugs to nucleic acids and on the use of fluorescent DNA/dye complexes in cytometry and cytochemistry lies entirely outside the scope of this chapter. 

Prusiner. P. and M. Sundaralingam. 1972. Stereochemistry of nucleic acids and their constituents XXIX. Crystal and molecular structure of allopurinol, a potent inhibitor of xanthine oxid ste Cryst. 

Isildar M, Schuchmann MN, Schulte-Frohlinde D, von Sonntag C (1982) Oxygen uptake in the radiolysis of aqueous solutions of nucleic acids and their constituents. Int J Radiat Biol 41 525-533 Jacobsen F, Flolcman J, Sehested K (1997) Manganese(ll)-superoxide complex in aqueous solution. J Phys Chem A 101 1324-1328... 

Because of the complex behaviour to be expected for natural nucleic acids, it is only natural that considerable effort has been devoted to studies of the electrochemical properties of their monomeric units, and defined analogues of these, as well as of synthetic oligo- and polynucleotides. A variety of techniques has been applied for this purpose, and some of the details and findings are covered in several reviews 19 24). Most investigations have dealt with electroreduction processes 15 20,24,25). Only relatively recently has attention been directed to possible electrooxidation of nucleic acids and their constituents with the aid of the graphite electrode which, in comparison with the mercury electrode, possesses a much greater accessible range of positive potentials 26 29). 

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