Unaltered Free Base Release from d(CGCGCG)2 Produced by the Direct Effect of Ionizing Radiation at 4 K and Room Temperature

Abstract Sharma, K. K., Purkayastha, S. and Bernhard, W. A. Unaltered Free Base Release from d(CGCGCG)2 Produced by the Direct Effect of Ionizing Radiation at 4 K and Room Temperature. Radiat. Res. 167, 501–507 (2007). Unaltered free base release in d(CGCGCG)2 exposed to X rays at 4 K or room temperature was measured by HPLC. Samples were prepared either as films hydrated to a level of Γ = 2.5 mol water/mol nucleotide or as polycrystalline with Γ ∼ 7.5 mol water/mol nucleotide. X irradiation of films at 4 K, followed by annealing to room temperature, resulted in yields for cytosine and guanine of G(Cyt) = 0.036 ± 0.001 μmol/J and G(Gua) = 0.090 ± 0.002 μmol/J. Irradiation of films at room temperature gave similar yields. The yields for polycrystalline d(CGCGCG)2 X-irradiated at room temperature were G(Cyt) = 0.035 ± 0.005 μmol/J and G(Gua) = 0.077 ± 0.023 μmol/J. The total free base release yield, G(fbr), was 0.124 ± 0.008 μmol/J for films and 0.112 ± 0.028 μmol/J for polycrystalline samples. G(fbr) is be...