Nucleic acid hybridization under steady-state conditions is described by a
kinetic model in which the intermediate state is assumed to be locally
single stranded. An expression was derived that relates nucleic acid
secondary structure to the rate of oligonucleotide-RNA hybridization. The
model allows the calculation of a rate factor that is proportional to the
rate constant for hybridization between complementary nucleic acids and
is generally applicable to any RNA molecule with potential utility for
rapid identification of sites for antisense attack of mRNA.