Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 6, 2026

Analyzing and Building Nucleic Acid Structures with 3DNA
Published on: April 26, 2013
Characterizing the strength of individual hydrogen bonds in DNA base pairs
Halina Szatyłowicz1, Nina Sadlej-Sosnowska
1Faculty of Chemistry, Warsaw University of Technology, Noakowskiego 3, 00-664 Warsaw (Poland) and National Medicines Institute, 30/34 Chełmska Street, 00-725 Warsaw, Poland. halina@ch.pw.edu.pl
Abstract:
The energies of individual hydrogen bonds (H-bonds) in A-T and G-C Watson-Crick base pairs were calculated according to the natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis of intermolecular interactions. The extent to which individual H-bonds are helpful in holding the two base pairs together was previously investigated quantitatively by a few different approaches, and the results of the present and previous estimations were compared. The method was validated by the determination of the H-bond strength changes in A-T and G-C pairs upon the substitution of the monomer (base) by two cationic substituents; the systems for which the changes were previously anticipated based on the modifications of the H-bonds' distances.
Related Concept Videos
Hydrogen Bonds
Hydrogen Bonds
DNA Base Pairing
DNA Base Pairing
Bond Energies and Bond Lengths
Chemical Bonds
Atoms participate in a chemical bond formation to acquire a completed valence-shell electron configuration similar to that of the noble gas nearest to it in atomic number. Ionic, covalent, and metallic bonds are some of the important types of chemical bonds. Bond energy and bond length determine the strength of a chemical bond.
Types of Chemical Bonds
An ionic bond is formed due to electrostatic attraction between cations and anions. Often, the ions are formed by the transfer of electrons from...

