MOLECULAR

STRUCTURE OF
NUCLEIC ACIDS

CEREN BULBUL – 20160808052

ESRA TONTU – 2018080808078
HASAN ABASOV - 20160807006
A structure for nucleic acid has
already been proposed by
Pauling and Corey.
• Their model consist of 3
intertwined chains,
with phosphates near the
fiber axis, and the bases
on the outside.
WHAT ARE THE PROBLEMS ??

• We believe that the material which gives the X-Ray diagrams

is the salt, not the free acid.
• Without the acidic hydrogen atoms is not clear what forces
would hold the structure together, especially as the
negatively charged phosphates near the axis will repel each
other.
• Some of the Van der Waals distance appear to be too small.
IN 1950...

• Wilkins also introduced his friend Francis Crick to the

subject, and Crick and his partner James Watson began their
own investigation at the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge,
focusing on building molecular models. After one failed
attempt in which they postulated a triple-helix structure, they
were banned by the Cavendish from spending any additional
time on the subject.
 WHAT IS THE X-RAY
DIFFRACTION ?
• The atomic planes of a cyristal cause on
incident beam of X-Ray to interfere with
one another as they leave the crystal.
• The phenomenen is called X-Ray
diffraction.
••After
Afterseeing
seeingnew
newX-Ray
X-Raydifferaction
differactionimages
images
taken by Franklin they soon announced that
taken by Franklin they soon announced that not not
only
onlyhad
hadthey
theydiscovered
discoveredthethedouble-helix
double-helix
structure of DNA, but even more importantly, that
structure of DNA, but even more importantly, that
"the
"thespecific
specificpaining
painingwewehave
havepostulated
postulated
immedantly suggests a possible coppying
immedantly suggests a possible coppying
mechanism
mechanismfor forthe
thegenetic
geneticmetarial."
metarial."