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Absorption of Ultra-violet Light by Living Cells

Abstract

NUCLEIC acids, because of the presence of purines and pyrimidines in the molecule, absorb ultra-violet light with a maximum absorption at 2600 A. Recently, Larionow and Brumberg1 suggested, on the basis of ultra-violet light photomicrographic studies, that desoxyribonucleic acid, as it exists in the nuclei of living cells, does not absorb ultra-violet light of wave-lengths near 2600 A. These investigators contended that absorption develops as a result of injury or death of the cell.

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References

  1. Larionow, L. T., and Brumberg, E. M., Nature, 158, 663 (1946).

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  2. Ely, J. O., and Ross, M. H., J. Franklin Inst., 246, 87 (1948).

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  3. Wyckoff, R. W. G., "Symposia on Quantitative Biology", 2, 39 (1934).

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ELY, J., Ross, M. Absorption of Ultra-violet Light by Living Cells. Nature 163, 906 (1949). https://doi.org/10.1038/163906a0

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