Research into the photochcmistry of biopolymcrs has increased in scope and scale to such an extent in recent years that it has become necessary to limit this review to a consideration of photochemical approaches to the structure of polynucleotides. Treatment proceeds from the constituent monomers to the polymer to emphasize the changes in photophysical and photochemical properties of the monomers when incorporated into the polymer. Studies of the mechanisms and structural requirements for the photoreactions in polynucleotides are complicated by low yields of reactions and the essential lack of luminescence from nucleotides in aqueous solution near room temperature. Contrariwise, the use of photochemical yields in an empirical way to indicate occurrence of conformational changes has been successful. The most successful use of photochemical reactions in polynucleotides has been for making specific structural modifications for structure --function studies.

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核酸中的光化学和结构

近年来，对生物聚合物光化学的研究范围和规模已经扩大到如此程度，以至于有必要将本综述限制在对多核苷酸结构的光化学方法的考虑上。处理从组成单体到聚合物进行，以强调单体在加入聚合物时的光物理和光化学性质的变化。由于反应产率低和在接近室温的水溶液中核苷酸基本不发光，因此对多核苷酸光反应的机制和结构要求的研究变得复杂。相反，以经验方式使用光化学产率来指示构象变化的发生已经成功。