Structural Studies on Nucleic acids and Other Biopolymers

Book excerpt: Physico-chemical Properties of Nucleic Acids, Volume II basically deals with the structural studies on nucleic acids and other biopolymers. This volume gives much emphasis on conformational changes using spectroscopic techniques and also on methods of thermodynamics and hydrodynamics. Volume II begins with Chapter 10 as continuation of Volume I and discusses the infrared and Raman spectroscopy of nucleic acids and polynucleotides. Chapter 11 delves further into the topic of infrared and Raman spectra particularly the vibrations in the base-residues. This volume also highlights the topic of RNA, where the structure of viral RNA and nuclear magnetic resonance studies of transfer RNAs in solution are covered. The last two chapters discuss the concept of thermodynamic and hydrodynamic properties of conformation transitions and changes. This volume caters to both students and researchers in various fields of science, such as biology, chemistry, molecular biology, biophysics, and microbiology.