Fluorescence of the Purine and Pyrimidine Bases of the Nucleic Acids in Neutral Aqueous Solution at 300°K

Abstract

Fluorescence of adenine, guanine, cytosine, and uracil at room temperature in neutral aqueous solution has been detected by means of a digital signal accumulation technique. Corrected emission and excitation spectra are presented and compared with low-temperature data. The quantum yields are, respectively, 2.6 x 10(-4), 3.0 x 10(-4), 0.8 x 10(-4), and 0.5 x 10(-4) when the bases are excited at their low-energy absorption maxima.