An experimental investigation of the tautomers of adenine

Abstract

The electric dipole moments and the u.v. absorption spectra of some adenine derivatives were measured. In agreement with theoretical predictions, the moments of the N(7)H tautomer derivatives were found to be by several debyes higher than those of the derivatives of the N(9)H and N(3)H tautomers. The N(3)H tautomer of adenine is possibly a mixture of the amine and the imine forms, while the N(7)H and N(9)H tautomers exist wholly in the amine form.