Nucleic acids nuclear magnetic resonance

The use of computer simulations to study internal motions and thermodynamic properties is receiving increased attention. One important use of the method is to provide a more fundamental understanding of the molecular information contained in various kinds of experiments on these complex systems. In the first part of this paper we review recent work in our laboratory concerned with the use of computer simulations for the interpretation of experimental probes of molecular structure and dynamics of proteins and nucleic acids. The interplay between computer simulations and three experimental techniques is emphasized (1) nuclear magnetic resonance relaxation spectroscopy, (2) refinement of macro-molecular x-ray structures, and (3) vibrational spectroscopy. The treatment of solvent effects in biopolymer simulations is a difficult problem. It is not possible to study systematically the effect of solvent conditions, e.g. added salt concentration, on biopolymer properties by means of simulations alone. In the last part of the paper we review a more analytical approach we have developed to study polyelectrolyte properties of solvated biopolymers. The results are compared with computer simulations. 

The refinement of other analytical methods, such as electrophoresis [34,36], the various techniques of optical spectroscopy [103-105], and nuclear magnetic resonance [201], is supplemented by the recent advances in real-time affinity measurements [152,202], contributing to the understanding of biomolecular reactivity. Taken together, the improvement of analytical methods will eventually allow a comprehensive characterization of the structure, topology, and properties of the nucleic acid-based supramolecular components under consideration for distinctive applications in nanobiotechnology. 

Volume 261. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and Nucleic Acids... 

C. Helene, T. Montenay-Garestier, and J. L. Dimicoli, Interactions of tyrosine and tyramine with nucleic acids and their components. Fluorescence, nuclear magnetic resonance, and circular dichroism studies, Biochim. Biophys. Acta 254, 349-365 (1971). 

Several direct methods are available to analyze the tertiary structure of ODNs like nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and X-ray crystallographic (XRC) techniques, which needs a sophisticated setup and infrastructure. An alternative but indirect method to study the structure and conformations of nucleic acids is circular dichroism spectroscopy (CD spectroscopy) (25, 26), where circular dichroism refers to the differential absorption of left and right circularly polarized light (27). 

An important complementary method for determining the three-dimensional structures of macromolecules is nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Modern NMR techniques are being used to determine the structures of ever-larger macromolecules, including carbohydrates, nucleic acids, and small to average-sized proteins. An advantage of NMR studies is that they are... 

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