ssDNA, dsDNA, RNA, and Solid Nucleobases

I have studied the geometry (bond lengths and angles), charge characteristics, binding energies, and hyperfine properties of ssDNA, dsDNA, RNA, as well as the free Nucleobases (Cytosine, Guanine, Adenine, Thymine, and Uracil). I have also investigated how muons and Muonium atoms interact with these systems.

By investigating the Nucleobases in many different environments (free, solid, ssDNA, dsDNA, RNA) I was able to develop an intuition for how the nucleobases interact with each other and the sugar group as well as the phosphate backbone of the DNA and RNA systems. I developed a better understanding of how the intra and intermolecular binding forces in these systems work.

I came to learn how the hydrogen bonding of the complementary pairs in dsDNA effect the hyperfine properties of the nucleobases as compared to binding in the solids. Please note, in all diagrams, blue is nitrogen, red is oxygen, white is hydrogen, and grey is carbon.