Thermodynamic and kinetic parameters of ion condensation to polynucleotides. Outer sphere complex formed by Mg++ions

The coupling of ion binding to the single strand helix-coil transition in poly (A) and poly (C) is used to obtain information about both processes by ion titration and field-jump relaxation methods. Characterisation of the field-jump relaxation in poly (C) at various concentrations of monovalent ions leads to the evaluation of a stability constant K = 71 M(-1) for the ion binding to the polymer. the rate constant of helix formation is found to be 1.3 X 10(7)s(-1), whereas the dissociation rate is 1.0 X 10(6)s(-1). Similar data are preseented for poly (A) and poly (dA). The interaction of Mg(++) and Ca(++) with poly (A) and poly (C) is measured by a titration method using the polymer absorbance for the indication of binding. The data can be represented by a model with independent binding "sites". The stability constants increase with decreasing salt concentration from 2.7 X 10(4) M(-1) at medium ionic strengths up to 2.7 X 10(7) M(-1) at low ionic strength. The number of ions bound per nucleotide residue is in the range 0.2 to 0.3. Relaxation time constants associated with Mg(++) binding are characterised over a broad range of Mg(++) concentrations form 5 muM to 500 muM. The observed concentration dependence supports the conclusion on the number of binding places inferred from equilibrium titrations. The rate of Mg(++) and Ca(++) association to the polymer is close to the limit of diffusion control kR =1 X 10(10) to 2 X 10(10) M(-1) s(-1)). This high rate demonstrates that Mg(++) and Ca(++) ions do not form inner-sphere complexes with the polynucleotides. Apparently the distance between two adjacent phosphates is too large for a simultaneous site binding of Mg(++) or Ca(++), and inner sphere complexation at a single phosphate seems to be too weak. The data support the view that the ions like Mg(++) and Ca(++) surround the polynucleotides in the form of a mobile ion cloud without site binding.