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Direct proton exchange between complementary nucleic acid bases

Abstract

SPECIFIC interaction between complementary nucleic acid bases, in which adenine forms strong hydrogen bonds specifically with thymine (uracil) and guanine with cytosine, is believed to be the molecular basis for the transfer of genetic information. Infrared spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance have shown that such specific interaction is intrinsic to nucleic acid bases1–5. In spite of much knowledge about the static structure of the interaction6–9, little is known about the dynamic property of the base pairs. We report here quantitative evidence of direct proton exchange between complementary nucleic acid base derivatives.

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IWAHASHI, H., KYOGOKU, Y. Direct proton exchange between complementary nucleic acid bases. Nature 271, 277–278 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1038/271277a0

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