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Updated: Jun 20, 2026

CD Spectroscopy to Study DNA-Protein Interactions
Published on: February 10, 2022
Insight into the denaturation transition of DNA
1Center for Neutron Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-6102, United States. hammouda@nist.gov
Abstract:
DNA undergoes a helix-to-coil transition (also called denaturation transition) upon heating. This transition can also be facilitated by using solvent mixtures (for example water-alcohol). An increase in the hydrophobic tail of the second solvent molecule first decreases then increases the melting temperature appreciably. Measurement on 4% DNA in a series of water-alcohol mixtures shows that the helix-to-coil melting transition is driven by the solvent ability to cross the hydrophobic sugar-rich region. DNA is behaving like a cylindrical micelle.
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