Ionophorous polymers.  Interaction with polynucleotides and effects on RNA-directed DNA polymerase activity. 
Poly(vinylbenzo-18-crown-6), a water-soluble polymer endowed with ion-binding crown moieties as pendent groups, forms insoluble complexes with polyadenylate in the presence of K+; the corresponding monomeric benzo-18-crown-6, does not form a precipitate under the same conditions.  In the presence of Na+ and Mn2+ which in aqueous solution complex weakly to crown compounds, no coprecipitation of the crown polymer and polyadenylate occurs; nevertheless, the crown polymer strongly binds to immobilized polyadenylate even under these conditions.  The interactions of crown polymer with the poly-nucleotide result in a loss of templating ability of the latter.  Using RNA-dependent DNA polymerase of murine leukemia virus it was found that (1) enzymatic action is efficiently inhibited even in the absence of ions which coprecipitate crown polymer and template, (2) inhibition is reversed by addition of excess polynucleotide and (3) monomeric crown does not inhibit the reaction.