A new study relevant for cancer radiation therapy shows that DNA building blocks are susceptible to fragmentation on contact with the full range of ions from alkaline element species Scientists now have a better understanding of how short DNA strands decompose in microseconds. A European team found new fragmentation pathways that occur universally when DNA strands are exposed to metal ions from a family of alkaline and alkaline earth elements. These ions tend to replace protons in the DNA backbone and at the same time induce a reactive conformation leading more readily to fragmentation.These findings by Andreas Piekarczyk, from the University of Iceland, and colleagues have been published in a study in EPJ D. They could contribute to optimising cancerous tumour therapy through a greater understanding of how radiation and its by-products, reactive intermediate particles, interact with complex DNA structures. In cancer radiation therapy, it is not the radiation itself that directly damages the DNA strands, or oligonucleotides. But rather, it is the secondary reactive particles, leading to the creation of charged intermediates. Here, the authors have studied one of these charged intermediates in the form of so-called protonated metastable DNA hexamers. To do so, the authors created selected oligonucleotide-metal-ion complexes that they
The post Improving tumour radiation therapy: When basic ions break DNA down has been published on Technology Org.
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