DNA strand breaks induced by 0-4 eV electrons: the role of shape resonances.

Collisions of 0-4 eV electrons with thin DNA films are shown to produce single strand breaks. The yield is sharply structured as a function of electron energy and indicates the involvement of pi* shape resonances in the bond breaking process. The cross sections are comparable in magnitude to those observed in other compounds in the gas phase in which pi* electrons are transferred through the molecule to break a remote bond. The results therefore support aspects of a theoretical study by Barrios et al. [J. Phys. B 106, 7991 (2002)]] indicating that such a mechanism could produce strand breaks in DNA.

[1]  M. Allan,et al.  Properties of the π* and σ* states of the chlorobenzene anion determined by electron impact spectroscopy , 2002 .

[2]  Pierre Cloutier,et al.  Single, double, and multiple double strand breaks induced in DNA by 3-100 eV electrons. , 2003, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[3]  T. Märk,et al.  Electron attachment to uracil: effective destruction at subexcitation energies. , 2003, Physical review letters.

[4]  G. Gallup,et al.  ELECTRON ATTACHMENT ENERGIES OF THE DNA BASES , 1998 .

[5]  T. Goulet,et al.  Monte Carlo simulation of fast electron and proton tracks in liquid water -- I. physical and physicochemical aspects , 1998 .

[6]  William L. Jorgensen,et al.  The Organic Chemist's Book of Orbitals , 1973 .

[7]  M. Sevilla,et al.  Density functional theory studies of electron interaction with DNA: can zero eV electrons induce strand breaks? , 2003, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[8]  I. Fabrikant,et al.  Resonance and Threshold Phenomena in Low-Energy Electron Collisions with Molecules and Clusters , 2003 .

[9]  Miss A.O. Penney.  (b) , 1974, The New Yale Book of Quotations.

[10]  D. Hunting,et al.  Resonant formation of DNA strand breaks by low-energy (3 to 20 eV) electrons. , 2000, Science.

[11]  Štefan Matejčík,et al.  Electron attachment to the DNA bases thymine and cytosine , 2003 .

[12]  S. Pimblott,et al.  Electron energy-loss distributions in solid, dry DNA. , 1995, Radiation research.

[13]  Piotr Skurski,et al.  Mechanism for Damage to DNA by Low-Energy Electrons † , 2002 .

[14]  E. Illenberger,et al.  Thymine excision from DNA by subexcitation electrons , 2004 .

[15]  E. Illenberger,et al.  Site-specific dissociation of DNA bases by slow electrons at early stages of irradiation. , 2004, Physical review letters.

[16]  G. Collins.  The Next Big Chill , 2003 .

[17]  G. Gallup,et al.  Bond breaking and temporary anion states in uracil and halouracils: implications for the DNA bases. , 2004, Physical review letters.

[18]  Dissociative attachment as a probe of intramolecular electron transfer , 1993 .

[19]  D. Hunting,et al.  Dissociative electron attachment to DNA. , 2003, Physical review letters.