A preliminary neutron crystallographic study of an A-DNA crystal

The LADI-III diffractometer at the Institut Laue-Langevin has been used to carry out a preliminary neutron crystallographic study of the self-complementary DNA oligonucleotide d(AGGGGCCCCT)(2) in the A conformation. The results demonstrate the viability of a full neutron crystallographic analysis with the aim of providing enhanced information on the ion-water networks that are known to be important in stabilizing A-DNA. This is the first account of a single-crystal neutron diffraction study of A-DNA. The study was carried out with the smallest crystal used to date for a neutron crystallographic study of a biological macromolecule.