Analysis of difference spectra of protonated DNA: determination of degree of protonation of nitrogen bases and the fractions of disordered nucleotide pairs.

The titration curves of nitrogen bases and fractions of disordered nucleotide pairs are obtained during DNA protonation. It is shown that purine bases are the first sites of the DNA double helix protonation. The cytosine protonation is due to proton-induced conformational transition within GC pairs with the sequence proton transfer from (N-7) of guanine to (N-3) of cytosine. Within DNA with unwound regions the bases are protonated in the following order: cytosine, adenine, guanine. It is shown that GC pairs are the primary centres in which the unwinding of protonated DNAs occurs.