Raman Spectrum of a Transfer RNA

Raman spectrum of purified formylmethionine transfer RNA from Escherichia coli has been observed in its aqueous solution. In the 1800 to 200 cm(-l) range, about 30 Raman lines are found, each of which can be assigned to one of the constituent nucleotide residues. From the positions and intensities of the lines, information on the intramolecular environments of these base residues can be obtained.