DIELECTRIC STUDIES OF CHAIN MELTING AND DENATURATION IN NATIVE DNA

Dielectric methods, based on time domain reflectometry (TDR), have bee n employed to characterise DNA chain melting and denaturation, A diele ctric dispersion has been identified, centred in the low megahertz reg ion, which has been attributed to the fluctuation of counterions along short segments of the DNA chain. Chain melting studies have shown tha t the magnitude of this dispersion is dependent not only on the relati ve proportions of single to double stranded DNA but also on the interm olecular interactions between the DNA chains. (C) 1998 Elsevier Scienc e B.V.