Improved method for the measurement of ribonucleotide reductase activity

An improved method for the measurement of herpes simplex virus type 1 encoded ribonucleotide reductase has been developed. The enzyme which catalyses the conversion of ribonucleoside diphosphates to deoxyribonucleoside diphosphates was determined by first converting the ribonucleotide substrate and deoxyribonucleotide product to the corresponding nucleosides by treatment with snake venom phosphodiesterase. Then nucleosides were separated by HPLC and measured by flow through scintillation counting and by monitoring their absorbance at 254 nm. Under the conditions used in the experiment cytidine and deoxcytidine, the derivitised substrate and product respectively, eluted from the column at approximately 4 min 33 s and 6 min 24 s. Peak heights and areas were automatically calculated by computer to ascertain the amount of product formed and thus quantitate the assay. Automation of the assay from sample injection to analysis provides a significant saving in time and an improvement in the efficiency of measurement of ribonucleotide reductase activity over other published methods.