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Shape of Ultra-violet Inactivation Curves of Transforming Deoxyribonucleic Acid

Nature volume 185, pages 556–557 (1960)Cite this article

Abstract

IN analysing the effects of radiation on biological systems, it is customary to plot the logarithm of the surviving fraction (or of the fraction of the biological activity remaining) against the applied dose. When such a plot gives a straight line passing through the origin, the radiation sensitivity of the system may be characterized by a single constant, which is conveniently taken as the negative slope of the logarithmic inactivation curve. Such a curve is consistent with the assumption that the inactivation results from independent, single events (inactivating ‘hits’) occurring at random1.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry, Johns Hopkins University, School of Hygiene and Public Health, Baltimore, 5, Maryland

    CLAUD S. RUPERT & SOL H. GOODGAL

Authors
  1. CLAUD S. RUPERT
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  2. SOL H. GOODGAL
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RUPERT, C., GOODGAL, S. Shape of Ultra-violet Inactivation Curves of Transforming Deoxyribonucleic Acid. Nature 185, 556–557 (1960). https://doi.org/10.1038/185556a0

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