Historically, biophysical studies of nucleic acids have been carried out at near ideal conditions, i.e.,  low phosphate concentration (e.g., 10 mM), pH 7, low ionic strength (e.g., 100 mM) and, for optical studies, low concentrations of DNA (e.g. 1 x 10-6 M).  Although valuable structural and thermodynamic data have come out of these studies, the conditions, for the most, part, are inadequate to simulate cellular conditions.  The increasing interest in studying biomolecules in the presence of cosolutes that alter the activity of water prompted us to investigate the effect of some cosolutes on the structural and thermodynamic properties of DNA oligomers containing the human telomere sequence (TTAGGG)4.  Here, we report the characterization of (TTAGGG)4 in the absence or presence of increasing concentrations of cosolutes ranging from acetonitrile to polyethylene  glycol.  The perturbation by these cosolutes of the DNA conformation and stability is discussed in terms of hydration and excluded volume effects.

Influencing the conformation and stability of the human telomere sequence, (TTAGGG)<sub>4</sub>, with osmotic stress

247th National Meeting (2014)

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Influencing the conformation and stability of the human telomere sequence, (TTAGGG)4, with osmotic stress

Influencing the conformation and stability of the human telomere sequence, (TTAGGG)₄, with osmotic stress