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Crystal and Molecular Structure of N-Methyl Cytosine

Abstract

IN the nucleic acids, cytosine is connected to a sugar residue through N1 of the pyrimidine ring. Here we describe the results of an X-ray diffraction analysis of crystals of N1-methyl cytosine. The presence of the methyl group makes it likely that the molecule has the same tautomeric form as in the nucleic acids. This molecule crystallizes in hydrogen bonded pairs, as is commonly found for purines and pyrimidines, but the structure is unusual in that the two bases do not lie in the same plane.

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SCOTT MATHEWS, F., RICH, A. Crystal and Molecular Structure of N-Methyl Cytosine. Nature 201, 179–180 (1964). https://doi.org/10.1038/201179a0

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