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Heats of the helix–coil transitions of the poly A–poly U complexes
Author(s) -
Krakauer Henry,
Sturtevant Julian M.
Publication year - 1968
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.1968.360060406
Subject(s) - chemistry , counterion , helix (gastropod) , polyelectrolyte , thermodynamics , phenomenological model , differential scanning calorimetry , thermal , polymer chemistry , polymer , organic chemistry , ion , physics , condensed matter physics , ecology , snail , biology
The heats of the conformational transitions of poly (A + U) and poly(A + 2U) were determined in a twin‐cell differential thermal analysis microcalorimeter capable of measuring heat effects of 25–35 meal, in reactions of this type, with a precision of about 3%. The dependence of these heats on the concentration of Na + and K + was studied and was found to be interpretable with fair success by a simple phenomenological argument which employs the concept of binding of counterions to polyelectrolytes.