Polyribonucleotides. The Role of Acid/Base Properties in Hydrogen Bond Interactions

Abstract
Three new polyribonucleotides, poly (3-deazauridylic acid), poly (2-fluoroinosinic acid) and “poly (ribavirinic acid)” were synthesized. These compounds were designed to explore the importance and limits of the acidic properties of putative Watson-Crick hydrogen bonding protons in forming duplexes with complementary polynucleotides. None of these polymers formed such duplexes, thus establishing that a limited range of acidities is required.