The characterization of preparations of polyadenylic and polyuridylic acid

The composition and molecular size of enzymatically synthesized polyadenylic and polyuridylic acids (poly‐A, poly‐U The following abbreviations will be used: ADP, UDP, etc. 5′‐diphosphates of adenosine, etc.; poly‐A, ‐U, etc. polynucleotides: polyadenylic acid, etc.; poly(A + U), etc. helical aggregates of the polynucleotides; RNA ribonucleic acid; DNA deoxyribonucleic acid. Different preparations of poly‐A and poly‐U are indicated as e.g. poly‐AB 55, poly‐UB 6B, poly‐AO 7. Chemical and physical data about these preparations are collected in Table V. ) have been studied. The analyses comprised molecular weight, polydispersity, content of nitrogen, phosphorus, carbon, and hydrogen and the presence of residual protein, ‘foreign’ nucleotides, metal ions, and water. Some general aspects of the aggregation of poly‐A and poly‐U were also investigated in this connection.