Stability of pure, mixed and nanohydrated clusters of small biomolecules

A large number of studies are devoted to the investigation of the biomolecular ionization and fragmentation dynamics underlying biological radiation damage. Most of these studies have been based on gas-phase collisions with isolated DNA building blocks. The radiobiological significance of these studies is often questioned because of the lack of a chemical environment. We report on experiments, performed in the gas phase, using clusters of these small molecules with the aim to simulate environmental effects. The discussion is focused on the influence of this simple biochemical environment on the cluster stability and the modifications of the fragmentation processes.