Abstract
Summary
In an attempt to elucidate the intramolecular bonding of trace metals in ribonucleic acids, measurements have been made of the electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrums of 36 samples of RNA isolated from human and rat tissues. The EPR pattern of manganese was readily detected in all of the samples of RNA. The resonance patterns indicate that manganese is present in RNA in a divalent state and suggest that manganese is located at the center of a distorted octahedron of oxygen atoms. From the intensity of nominally forbidden resonances, the crystal field splitting parameter D was estimated to be 0.02 cm-1.
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