Electron Attachment to the Nucleobase Uracil in Diethylene Glycol: The Signature of a Doorway
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: The cellular environment plays a significant role in low energy electron-mediated radiation damage to genetic materials. In this study, we have modeled the effect of the bulk medium on electron attachment to nucleobases in diethylene glycol (DEG) using uracil as a test case, in accordance with recent experimental work on the observation of dissociative quasi-free electron attachment to nucleoside via excited anion radical in solution (in DEG). Our EOM-CCSD-based quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical (QM/MM) simulations indicate that the electron scavenging by uracil in DEG is much slower than that observed in the aqueous medium due to its viscosity. This work also establishes that a doorway mechanism exists in uracil microsolvated and bulk solvated with DEG, with the dipole-bound state and solvent-bound state acting as doorway states, respectively.
Source: ChemPhysChem
Institutions: Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Oakland University
Language: English
Topic: Atomic and Molecular Physics
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4402131973