FTIR spectroscopic studies of oligonucleotides that model a triple-helical domain in self-splicing group I introns

Experiment was conducted using Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy to characterize the Mg2+ dependent association of a 23-mer mixed ribo-deoxyribonucleotide (23-mer RNA) and a 7-mer oligoribonucleotide (7-mer RNA) that models the triple-helical domain of a self-splicing group I intron. FTIR-monitored thermal denaturation of the two 23-mer hairpins shows two distinct melting regions in 1 M NaCl, in tghe case of the RNA hairpin but not for the 23-mer DNA.