Tautomeric equilibrium of uracil and thymine in model protein-nucleic acid contacts. Spectroscopic and quantum chemical approach.

This work deals with tautomeric transformations of uracil (Ura) and thymine (Thy) in their model complexes with the deprotonated carboxylic group. Essential changes in the UV spectra of the bases upon their interaction with NaAc, vanishing signals of both imino protons in (1)H NMR spectra, and a perceptible decrease in intensity of both IR bands, related to the stretching vibrations nu(C=O) of the carbonyl groups, imply involvement of enolic tautomers. Results of quantum chemical calculations of the double complexes of the Ura(Thy) tautomers with CH(3)COO(-) at the MP2/6-311++G(2df,pd)//B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) level of theory proved to be incompatible with the spectral features: despite the fact that the complexes of the enolic tautomers are much closer in energy to the diketo ones as compared to isolated tautomers, the energy gap between them is such that in tautomeric equilibrium dominate diketo forms.

ATR-IR spectroscopy as applied to nucleic acid films.

For the first time the ATR technique was applied to obtain IR absorption spectra of DNA and RNA dry films. There was worked out procedure of the nucleic acid removal from germanium plate, which obviously was a main obstacle to application of ATR-IR spectroscopy to nucleic acids. This technique of IR spectroscopy was applied to confirmation of RNA tropism of aurin tricarboxylic acid observed by molecular biological methods.