The Nucleic Acids

Providing a comprehensive account of the structures and physical chemistry properties of nucleic acids, with special emphasis on biological function, this text has been organized to meet the needs of those who have only a basic understanding of physical chemistry and molecular biology.

The structure, function and reactions of nucleic acids are central to molecular biology and are crucial for the understanding of complex biological processes involved. Revised and updated Nucleic Acids in Chemistry and Biology 3rd Edition discusses in detail, both the chemistry and biology of nucleic acids and brings RNA into parity with DNA. Written by leading experts, with extensive teaching experience, this new edition provides some updated and expanded coverage of nucleic acid chemistry, reactions and interactions with proteins and drugs. A brief history of the discovery of nucleic acids is followed by a molecularly based introduction to the structure and biological roles of DNA and RNA. Key chapters are devoted to the chemical synthesis of nucleosides and nucleotides, oligonucleotides and their analogues and to analytical techniques applied to nucleic acids. The text is supported by an extensive list of references, making it a definitive reference source. This authoritative book presents topics in an integrated manner and readable style. It is ideal for graduate and undergraduates students of chemistry and biochemistry, as well as new researchers to the field.

The Nucleic Acids, Volume III covers the significant progress in understanding the chemistry and biological importance of the nucleic acids. This volume is composed of 12 chapters, and begins with an overview of the general principles of the determination of weight, shape, and dimension of large molecules in solution. These topics are followed by discussions on the photochemistry of nucleic acids and its constituents; chemical and enzymic synthesis of polynucleotides; and nucleic acid content and dynamics of bacterial viruses. The next chapters describe the biosynthesis of purine and pyrimidine nucleotides. A chapter examines the relationship of nucleic acid and protein synthesis through considering cell-free systems, particularly those derived from mammalian tissues. Another chapter looks into the protein biosynthesis in intact bacterial cells. The final chapters explore the nucleic acid metabolism, with a special emphasis on the effect of radiation on the process. This book is of value to organic chemists and biochemists.

Since the discovery of the DNA double helix in 1953, nucleic acids have formed the central theme of much of contemporary molecular science. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the increasing efforts to determine the DNA sequence of the human genome and the development of new diagnostics of genetic disease. Recent sophistication of nucleic acids synthesis has been key to the establishment of the biotechnology industry and our improving knowledge of nucleic acid structures and interactions is noticeably influencing the design of novel drugs.This second and completely revised edition draws on the expertise of the same international group of authors to set the basics of the nucleic acids in the context of the expanding horizons set by modern structural biology, RNA enzymology, drug discovery and biotechnology.

The study of nucleic acids is one of the most rapidly developing fields in modern science. The exceptionally important role of the nucleic acids as a key to the understanding of the nature of life is reflected in the enormous number of published works on the subject, including many outstanding monographs and surveys. The pathways of syn thesis and metabolism of nucleic acid,s and the many and varied biological functions of these biopolymers are examined with the utmost detail in the literature. Nearly as much attention has been paid to the macromolecular chemistry of the nucleic acids: elucidation of the size and shape of their molecules, the study of the physicochemical properties of their solutions, and the appropriate methods to be used in such research. The surveys of the chemistry of nucleic acids which have been published so far deal almost entirely with their synthesis and, in particular, with the synthetic chemistry of monomers (nucleosides and nucleotides) ; less attention has been paid to the synthesis of poly nucleotides. There is yet another highly important aspect of the chemistry of nucleic acids which is still in the formative stage, the study of the reactivity of nucleic acid macromolecules and their components. This can make an important contribution to the deter mination of the structure of these remarkable biopolymers and to the correct understanding of their biological functions.

Life in all its forms is based on nucleic acids which store and transfer genetic information. The book addresses the main aspects of synthesis, hydrolytic stability, solution equilibria of nucleosides and nucleotides as well as base modifications of nucleic acids. The author further describes their structural analogues used as therapeutic drugs, such as antivirals and anticancer agents, and prodrug strategies of nucleotides.

When the first edition of this book was published in 1950, it predated the publication of the double-helical structure of DNA by three years. It is not, therefore, surprizing that nothing of the original book remains in the current edition. Indeed, such is the pace of change in the field of nucleic acids that less than 50% of material incorporated into the 1986 edition has been retained. The book aims at the advanced undergraduate and at graduates that are undertaking course work or requiring an in-depth background for their research. It also aims to provide the established scientist with a single text that permits updating across the whole field from DNA structure, replication and repair, through gene expression and its control to protein synthesis. Every chapter is accompanied by thorough referencing that enables the reader to evaluate personally the data and methodology that cannot be included in the text. In an attempt to keep this list within bounds, references are limited to about ten per page and, to accommodate the more recent literature, many of the older references have been left out in this latest edition.