Measurement of polyadenylic acid by hybridization with polyuridylic acid: a source of error due to the lability of tritiated polyuridylic acid in trichloroacetic acid.

During brief exposure to trichloroacetic acid at 0 degree C, significant amounts of tritiated polyuridylic acid are converted to acid-soluble products. The loss of polymeric radioactivity is dependent on both acid concentration and the time of exposure to acid. When trichloroacetic acid precipitation is used to recover the tritiated polyuridylic acid present in a hybrid with polyadenylic acid, significant underestimates of the hybridized radioactivity can occur because of the lability of tritiated polyuridylic acid. Conditions are given which minimize the lability and permit quantitative recovery of tritiated polyuridylic acid by trichloroacetic acid precipitation.