Influence of solvent structure on the conformation of the native DNA molecule

The investigation of the factors determining the formation and stability of the higher biopolymers structures is one of the most important trends of the development of molecular biophysics. A feature common to most macromolecular systems under physiological conditions is that they function in an aqueous environment. Thus, it is natural to assume that the peculiarities of biological macromolecules structures and their functional activity as well are closely related to the specific properties of such a unique solvent as water. The investigations of the conformational changes of biopolymer, induced by dehydration of the macromolecule, give information about the nature of the forces stabilizing its structure. The dehydration of the macromolecule in solution can be attained by addition of a nonaqueous cosolvent. Generally low-molecular-weight aliphatic alcohols, amides, and amines are used as a nonaqueous component. At present a vast number of experimental and theoretical data concerning the properties of water and aqueous systems are available. The specificity of water as a solvent arises primarily from the spatial hydrogen-bonded structure. The addition of a nonaqueous component exerts changes in this structure, which evolve to the singularities of the physical characteristics of water-nonelectrolyte mixtures. It is generally assumed that nonelectrolytes may be divided, according to their effect on the spatial water structure, largely into two basic classes: (1) the structure makers, i.e., the compounds of aliphatic alcohols type; (2) the structure breakers, i.e., the compounds of urea type. The agents belonging to the first class show a stabilizing effect in the range of low nonelectrolyte content. At a certain critical concentration, C_crit, characteristic of each substance, the nonaqueous solute molecules leave the cavities of the spatial water structure which leads to a disruption of the latter. The agents belonging to the second class exert a structure-breaking effect even in the range of extremely low concentrations, which arises from their high competitive ability for hydrogen bonding.