Influence of ions on the electrical characteristics of the deoxyribonucleic acid-water interface
Abstract
The sedimentation potentials of native and denatured DNA adsorbed on negatively charged Pyrex particles were measured at fixed ionic strength and pH. The zeta potentials were calculated from these sedimentation values and it was observed that metal ions such as Zn2+, Cu2+, Ag+, Hg2+ and Mg2+ decrease the zeta potentials in a manner that is dependent on the nature of the metal ions.