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Application of matrix rank analysis to the optical rotatory dispersion of TMV RNA
Author(s) -
McMullen D. W.,
Jaskunas S. R.,
Tinoco Ignacio
Publication year - 1967
Publication title -
biopolymers
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.556
H-Index - 125
eISSN - 1097-0282
pISSN - 0006-3525
DOI - 10.1002/bip.1967.360050702
Subject(s) - optical rotatory dispersion , chemistry , superposition principle , ionic bonding , spectral line , matrix (chemical analysis) , dispersion (optics) , molecular physics , rank (graph theory) , range (aeronautics) , computational chemistry , physics , crystallography , optics , quantum mechanics , chromatography , circular dichroism , mathematics , organic chemistry , combinatorics , materials science , ion , composite material
The method of matrix rank analysis has been applied to a large body of experimental data to determine and identify the minimum number of independent spectral components that, were contained within it. The optical rotatory dispersion of TMV RNA was measured in the wavelength region 230–350 mμ, for a wide range of temperatures and ionic strengths. Over the whole range of conditions considered, the observed optical rotatory dispersion spectra were found to be a superposition of two basic spectra only. Evidence is put forward relating these spectra to the single‐strand and double‐strand helical forms of the molecule. A model is proposed to explain the observed spectral changes in terms of an equilibrium between these two conformations, which leads to a direct calculation of the percentage composition of the double strand at any of the conditions considered. This equilibrium, while simple in general description, appears multi‐state and complex in detail. This method of analysis is both powerful and of wide applicability, since it is independent of the source of the data.