The Conformation of Nucleic Acids

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Dr. Johnson is continuing his work on the determination of the secondary structure of biological polymers in solution using circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy. CD is an excellent technique for monitoring the secondary structure of optically active biological molecules. It is very sensitive to the orientation of nearest neighbor chromophores and it can be used when these molecules are in solution. It is also planned to make extensive use of 2D NMR in the near future. The focus of this research is to solve structural problems of current interest which involve nucleic acids. A special CD spectrometer has been developed on which measurements in the vacuum ultraviolet region can be made. This region is rich in information about the structure and conformation of macromolecules. Dr. Johnson will also work on improving the theory of CD so that the spectrum of a macromolecule can be directly related to its structure and conformation.