title: Cation radius effects on the helix-coil transition of DNA. Cryptates and other large cations.
abstract: Most polyelectrolyte theories of the effect of ions on the thermal melting of DNA assume that the predominant influence of the cations comes through their charge. Ion size and structure are treated, for analytic convenience, as negligible variables. We have examined the validity of this assumption by measuring the melting temperature of calf thymus DNA as a function of salt concentration with four univalent cations of different hydrated radii. These are K+ (3.3 A), (n-Pr)4N+ (4.5 A), (EtOH)4N+ (4.5 A), and C222-K+ (5 A). C222-K+ is a complex of cryptand C222 with K+. With K+ as the sole cation, Tm varies linearly with the log of ionic strength over the range 0.001-0.1 M. With all the K+ sequestered by an equimolar amount of C222, Tm is depressed by 10-20 degrees C and the slope of Tm vs. ionic strength is lower. At low ionic strength, an even greater reduction in Tm is achieved with (n-Pr)4N+; but the similar-sized (EtOH)4N+ gives a curve more similar to K+. Theoretical modeling, taking into account cation size through the Poisson-Boltzmann equation for cylindrical polyelectrolytes, predicts that larger cations should be less effective in stabilizing the double helix; but the calculated effect is less than observed experimentally. These results show that valence, cation size, and specific solvation effects are all important in determining the stability of the double-helical form of DNA.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis 55455.
authors.forename: B L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Trend
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Knoll
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ueno
authors.forename: D F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Evans
authors.forename: V A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Bloomfield
mesh_terms: D001643:Bridged Bicyclo Compounds; D019086:Bridged Bicyclo Compounds, Heterocyclic; D002414:Cations, Monovalent; D004247:DNA; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007700:Kinetics; D008433:Mathematics; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D009994:Osmolar Concentration; D011188:Potassium; D000644:Quaternary Ammonium Compounds; D019789:Tetraethylammonium; D013757:Tetraethylammonium Compounds
chemical_list: D001643:Bridged Bicyclo Compounds; D019086:Bridged Bicyclo Compounds, Heterocyclic; D002414:Cations, Monovalent; D000644:Quaternary Ammonium Compounds; D013757:Tetraethylammonium Compounds; C052377:tetrapropylammonium; C006071:cryptating agent 222; D019789:Tetraethylammonium; D004247:DNA; D011188:Potassium