title: A facile method for attaching nitroxide spin labels at the 5' terminus of nucleic acids.
abstract: In site-directed spin labeling (SDSL), a nitroxide moiety containing a stable, unpaired electron is covalently attached to a specific site within a macromolecule, and structural and dynamic information at the labeling site is obtained via electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. Successful SDSL requires efficient site-specific incorporation of nitroxides. Work reported here presents a new method for facile nitroxide labeling at the 5' terminus of nucleic acids of arbitrary sizes. T4-polynucleotide kinase was used to enzymatically substitute a phosphorothioate group at the 5' terminus of a nucleic acid, and the resulting phosphorothioate was then reacted with an iodomethyl derivative of a nitroxide. The method was successfully demonstrated on both chemically synthesized and naturally occurring nucleic acids. The attached nitroxides reported duplex formation as well as tertiary folding of nucleic acids, indicating that they serve as a valid probe in nucleic acid studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Southern California, LJS-251, 840 Downey Way, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0744, USA.
authors.forename: Gian Paola G
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Grant
authors.forename: Peter Z
authors.initials: PZ
authors.lastname: Qin
mesh_terms: D001671:Biochemistry / Q000379:methods; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry*; D004578:Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy; D009589:Nitrogen Oxides / Q000737:chemistry*; D011116:Polynucleotide 5'-Hydroxyl-Kinase / Q000378:metabolism; D012313:RNA / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D012360:RNA, Transfer, Phe / Q000737:chemistry; D013113:Spin Labels; D013873:Thionucleotides / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D009589:Nitrogen Oxides; D012360:RNA, Transfer, Phe; D013113:Spin Labels; D013873:Thionucleotides; D012313:RNA; D004247:DNA; D011116:Polynucleotide 5'-Hydroxyl-Kinase