2004 Volume 61 Issue 2 Pages 139-143
DEAE-dextran is an important substance used for transfer of nucleic acids into cultured mammalian cells. The transfection of a mammalian cell is accomplished via the complexation between nucleic acids and DEAE-dextran. Such complexes were thus synthesized using the RNA from a yeast under various conditions including reaction time and pH, and analyzed by IR absorption spectroscopy and DSC. From the relation between the yield, pH, and reaction time, the optimum pH was in the range 5-10. The relation between the weight ratio of RNA/DEAE-dextran in the complex, pH, and reaction time indicated the ratio to be 0.25-0.55 in the pH range 5-10. The IR absorption spectra and DSC curves confirmed that the complexes were formed by the coulomb force between a single and tandem DEAE-group in DEAE-dextran and phosphoric acid in the RNA.
