Ring Formation and Hydration Effects in Electron Attachment to Misonidazole

We study the reactivity of misonidazole with low-energy electrons in a water environment combining experiment and theoretical modelling. The environment is modelled by sequential hydration of misonidazole clusters in vacuum. The well-defined experimental conditions enable computational modeling of the observed reactions. While the NO 2 − dissociative electron attachment channel is suppressed, as also observed previously for other molecules, the OH − channel remains open. Such behavior is enabled by the high hydration energy of OH − and ring formation in the neutral radical co-fragment. These observations help to understand the mechanism of bio-reductive drug action. Electron-induced formation of covalent bonds is then important not only for biological processes but may find applications also in technology.