A simple experimental arrangement for measuring the vapour pressures and sublimation enthalpies by the Knudsen effusion method: Application to DNA and RNA bases

We measured the vapour pressure of several DNA and RNA bases—uracil, adenine, guanine, thymine and cytosine—in the 300–450 K range. In each case the sample mass loss rate was measured as function of temperature with a simple setup consisting of a commercial film deposition system and a homemade oven. Afterwards vapour pressure values were extracted from these data using the Knudsen effusion method. Sublimation enthalpy values, obtained from vapour pressure data by applying the Clausius–Clapeyron equation, are in very good agreement with literature values. The results suggest that crystal-based film thickness monitors may be useful in on-line cross-section measurements, monitoring the gas target thickness. They also show the viability of using this oven for producing a biomolecular gas target.