| Abstract: | A method for calculating the “static” steric accessibilities of atoms within macromolecules for various probes is presented and an application is made to the accessibility of atoms within B-DNA. Changes in accessibility in passing from the individual subunits of the nucleic acid to a single helical strand and then to a double helix are discussed. The influence of various base sequences is also investigated. The present methodology and results are compared to earlier attempts at the calculation of steric accessibilities and their significance for the interpretation of chemical reactivity is substantiated by an illustrative example. |
