Low-frequency vibrations of a nucleoside analog

This paper reports on the first coherent neutron scattering measurements ever carried out on the vibrational spectrum of a nucleoside analog. Frequencies up to 3.5 Thz belonging to some half-dozen dispersion curves have been measured in a plane normal to the [1 10] direction in a triclinic crystal of 5-iodo-2'-deoxyuridine (5-iodouridine). The number of phonon branches observed suggests that the deoxyribose sugar and pyrimidine in this molecule are the vibrating entities at low frequencies. Comparisons, notably of elastic properties, are made with previous measurements on crystalline forms of DNA and various nucleic acid base derivatives. The observed frequencies are discussed with reference to a simple force constant model.