Platinum - dimethylsulphoxide as a specific nucleic acid reagent for base sequence determination by electron microscopy.
The reaction of platinum (II) - dimethylsulphoxide complex with the bases of the nucleic acids were investigated with a new towards their use as heavy atom markers for base sequence determination by electron microscopy. Both at pH 6.0 and pH 7.5 one platinum atom was bound simultaneously to the pyrimidines and two to adenine, while at the lower pH one platinum, and at the higher pH, two platinum atoms were bound to guanine. The stain therefore appears to be useful to determine the guanine and adenine sequence in single strands of RNA and DNA. Where complementary strands are available the complete sequence determination of all four bases should be possible.