A detailed series of n~olecular orbital calculations based on the HMO method lias been made for the various possible ionic species of purine, pyrazolo(3,4-d)pyrirnidine, v-triazolo(4,5-d)pyrimidine, and pyrazolo(3,4-b)pyridine. rt-Electron densities and localization and delocalization energies for nucleophilic substitution have been derived.The results are compared with the observed proton chemical shifts in the conjugate acids of these n~olecules, with the relative rates of nucleophilic piperidinodehalogenations in the neutral molecules, and with the ionization constants.It is concluded that it is possible to reconcile the calculations with experimental results for the various positions within a six-membered ring, but that positions in six-and five-membered rings cannot be directly compared. The electron densities seem to be of little value in correlating the observed ionization patterns of purines and their analogues.Canadian Journal of Chemistry, 47, 1129Chemistry, 47, (1969 Introduction As a consequence of their involvement as determinants of biological processes, the purine components of nucleic acids and their analogues have received much attention from synthetic organic chemists (1, 2) and from quantum chemists (3). However, there is little constructive interaction between the two groups: uncritical applications of molecular orbital (MO) calculations by synthetic chemists (4) often suggest that the calculations have little value, while defences of the value of simple MO treatments (5, 6) often quote irrelevant or incorrect supporting data. In this paper, we seek to show where simple MO calculations on appropriate ionic species of purines and their analogues are of correlative or predictive value, and also to indicate areas where the simple approach gives predictions at variance with experimental facts.We have chosen three areas where detailed comparisons between theory and experiment are possible: calculated n-electron densities and