A new chemical procedure for 32P-labeling of ribonucleic acids at their 5'-ends after isolation.

A new technique, which utilizes the chemical reaction between [32P]diimidazolidate of orthophosphate and the cetyltrimethylammonium salt of high-molecular-weight RNA in nonaqueous dimethyl formamide, has been developed for the 32P-labeling of RNAs after isolation. The radioactive label of high specific activity is introduced onto a phosphorylated 5'-end of the RNA and renders it suitable for 5'-terminal group analysis. When the labeling reaction was applied to the 70S RNA of avian myeloblastosis virus, a labeled 35S RNA was isolated on sucrose-dimethyl sulfoxide gradients without apparent degradation.