Specific chemical modification of cytidine in T4 DNA by a spin label

A procedure for selective modification of DNA from T4 phage non-glucosylated mutant by the spin label--N(2,2',5,5') tetramethyl-3-carboxypyrrolidine-1-oxyl)-imidazole was developed. The spin label was shown to interact with hydroxyl groups of 5-hydroxymethyl-2 deoxycytidines. The modification does not affect the secondary structure of DNA, its conformation or template properties in a cell-free system of RNA synthesis.