Book excerpt: Basic Principles in Nuclear Acid Chemistry, Volume II presents the significant progress in nucleic acid research and its contribution and influence on various aspects of human life. This book contains five chapters and begins with the susceptibility of nucleic acids towards attack by chemical reagents whose reactions with polynucleotides have been studied. This topic is followed by a presentation of experimental techniques used to study the properties of nucleic acids. The following chapter discusses some basic features embodied in the polyribo- and poly-deoxyribonucleotide backbone chains; the possibility of rotation around backbone bonds in the ""random"" single-stranded form; and the short- and long-range interactions in idealized and real chains. This chapter also looks into the thermodynamic and polyelectrolyte aspects of nucleic acid behavior. A chapter describes the special features of the third class of DNA, namely, closed duplex DNA, in which covalent chain scissions are absent. The last chapter examines the intrinsic properties and the interaction of the dimers and oligomers, with special emphasis on the influence of the phosphodiester linkages on the conformation and interaction of these short segments of nucleic acids. This book is of great value to workers in biomedical research and to higher level biochemistry instructors.