One of the mysteries of the English language finally explained.
A deliquescent compound which acts to stabilize various components of living cells and is widely distributed in living and decaying tissues.
A polyamine; chemical formula: (H₂N(CH₂)₃NH(CH₂)₂)₂
- ‘The flexible polyamine spermine displays a high presence in the minor groove but does not form long-lived and structurally defined complexes.’
- ‘The binding model displayed in Fig.8 A has been observed from crystallographic studies on B-DNA dodecamers stabilized with spermine.’
- ‘This may be related to the role of arginine as a biochemical precursor in the synthesis of putrescine, spermidine, and spermine, which are believed to be essential to sperm motility.’
- ‘By comparison, the tetra-amine spermine only binds weakly to peptide carboxylate groups, and not to the a-helical conformation.’
- ‘Because of their positive charges, putrescine, spermidine, and spermine show a high affinity with the acidic constituents of the cell (RNA, DNA, ATP, acidic proteins, phospholipids, etc.).’
Late 19th century: so called because first found in sperm.
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