Differences Between 4′‐RNA and 4′‐DNA Radicals during Anaerobic and Aerobic Strand Cleavage

How long does it take until it breaks? And what are the products? The influence of the 2′-OH group on the stability of nucleotide strands and the product composition after a radical-induced strand cleavage were investigated. The selectively generated 4′-ribonucleotide radicals 1 show that the 2′-OH group decreases the rate of spontaneous cleavage kE (1→2+3) as well as changes the ratio of the products 2 and 4 formed under aerobic conditions.