Chromatographic Studies on Nucleic Acids

The nucleic acids are such universal constituents of biological systems and their function is probably so important that it is not surprising that much labour has been spent on the study of their composition. Until very recently there have been no methods of analysis which could be considered more than semiquantitative, and it now seems doubtful whether many published analyses are even approximate. While it is now possible to separate and estimate quantitatively mixtures of purine and pyrimidine bases and some of their derivatives by means of paper strip chromatography (Hotchkiss, 1948; Vischer & Chargaff, 1948; Markham & Smith, 1949b), it is by no means as simple to convert nucleic acids into these compounds quantitatively. We have investigated many methods for the hydrolysis and estimation of nucleic acids, and have found it impossible to get satisfactory results by any published method. By combining our chromatographic technique with a simple method of quantitative hydrolysis and a solvent system which resolves the hydrolysate, we have evolved a new method of analysis which, in addition to being more sensitive than existing methods, is accurate and simple.