| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1882647 | Radiation Physics and Chemistry | 2011 | 9 Pages |
Ionizing radiation influences life profoundly for it can modify genetic materials. It is a long-standing task to investigate the interaction between energetic particles and DNA together with its components such as nucleotides, nucleosides and bases so as to predict and assess the potential biological effects. In this study, argon gas discharge was employed to produce energetic ions and electrons. The gas discharge caused the radiolysis of aqueous bases and the involved reactions were analyzed by means of spectroscopic tools including UV–vis absorption, fluorescence and Fourier transformation infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, also assisted by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS). It was found that the discharge resulted in the adenine-derived lesions such as 4,6-diamino-5-formamidopyrimidine, 8-OH-Ade and 2-OH-Ade in the radiolysis of aqueous adenine, as well as the thymine-derived lesions such as thymine glycol, 5-hydroxy-6-hydrothymine and/or 6-hydroxy-5-hydrothymine, 5-hydroxymethyluracil and 5-formyluracil in the radiolysis of aqueous thymine. The study of radio-sensitivity showed that adenine was more resistant to the discharge. The mechanisms of the involved reactions were studied in detail, confirming that the hydroxyl radical played a dominant role.
► Effective new way to study radiolysis of bases via a home-made argon discharge apparatus. ► Quantitative analysis of base radiolysis employing spectroscopic tools combined with HPLC/MS. ► Discovery of different radiolysis effect compared with other forms of ionizing radiations.
