摘要：

The ultraviolet absorption of desoxyribonucleic acids (DNA) in neutral solution is much less than expected from the sum of the absorptions of its constituents. The observed spectrum can be made to approach the calculated one by applying mild treatments which are presumably without action on phosphoester linkages (pH, temperature and salt concentration changes). The incidence of these facts on the questions of the chemical structure and biological properties of DNA is discussed. The results are interpreted as reflecting a denaturation of the DNA, i.e. the destruction of a secondary molecular structure constituted by labile bounds involving the puric and pyrimidic rings.

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