title: Mechanism and site of attack for direct damage to DNA by low-energy electrons.
abstract: We report results on the desorption of OH- induced by 0-19 eV electrons incident on self-assembled monolayer films made of single and double DNA strands of different orientations with respect to a gold substrate. Such measurements make it possible to deduce the mechanism and site of OH- formation within a biomolecule as complex as DNA. This type of damage is attributed to dissociative electron attachment to the phosphate group of DNA, when it contains the counterion H+.
authors.affiliation: Group in the Radiation Sciences, Department of Nuclear Medicine and Radiobiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sanche
mesh_terms: D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects*; D004249:DNA Damage; D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded / Q000737:chemistry / Q000528:radiation effects; D004583:Electrons
chemical_list: D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded; D004247:DNA