Room-temperature fluorescence properties of the polynucleotide polydA.polydT

The room-temperature fluorescence spectrum of the non-alternating polynucleotide polydA.polydT is found to have its maximum at about 325 nm and, when exciting in the spectral region where both adenine (A) and thymine (T) absorb, to coincide with that obtained for excitation at 293 nm where thymine is selectively excited. The fluorescence anisotropy is found to be equal to 0.18 and independent of the excitation and emission wavelengths. These observations are consistent with: (i) emission stemming from T; and (ii) transfer of electronic energy from A to T being not efficient. These inferences are also supported by the observed dependence of the fluorescence quantum yield on the excitation wavelength.