January 2020

Physical basis of the DNA double helix

Despite the widely spread acceptance that the enthalpy of DNA duplex unfolding does not depend on temperature and is greater for the CG base pair held by three hydrogen bonds than for the AT base pair held by only two hydrogen bonds, direct calorimetric measurement has shown that the enthalpic and entropic contributions of both base pairs are temperature dependent and at all temperatures they are greater for the AT base...

Author(s): Peter L.  Privalov