title: Physical chemistry of nucleic acids and their complexes.
abstract: Studies of the physical properties of nucleic acids began almost immediately following the discovery of the DNA structure. Early investigations focused on the stability and specificity of multi-strand polynucleotide complexes, then gradually on their interaction with other molecules, particularly proteins. As molecular and structural biology expanded to provide detailed information about biochemical mechanisms, physical studies eventually acquired the additional constraint that they should be relevant to functioning biological systems. We describe work in our laboratory that began with investigations of relatively simple questions about the role of electrostatic interactions in the stabilization of multi-strand nucleic acid structures, and evolved to studies of chromatin structure in vitro and within the nucleus.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Biology, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892.
authors.forename: Rodolfo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ghirlando
authors.forename: Gary
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Felsenfeld
mesh_terms: D002627:Chemistry, Physical; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry; D008967:Molecular Biology; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D009696:Nucleic Acids; D011506:Proteins / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D009696:Nucleic Acids; D011506:Proteins; D004247:DNA
keywords: DNA; chromatin; polynucleotide structures