TY  - JOUR
AU  - Svensson, Pamela H. W.
AU  - Rydgren, Brian
AU  - Schwob, Lucas
AU  - Berholts, Marta
AU  - Stenerlöw, Bo
AU  - Hocine Hafiani, Ouassim
AU  - André, Tomas
AU  - Grånäs, Oscar
AU  - Timneanu, Nicusor
AU  - Leroux, Juliette
AU  - Nair, Aarathi
AU  - Pille, Laura
AU  - Oostenrijk, Bart
AU  - Bari, Sadia
AU  - Björneholm, Olle
AU  - Caleman, Carl
TI  - Unlocking atom-specific radiotherapy – DNA backbone breakage caused by X-ray photoactivation
JO  - Chemical science
VL  - 16
IS  - 41
SN  - 2041-6520
CY  - Cambridge
PB  - RSC
M1  - PUBDB-2025-04474
SP  - 19235 - 19243
PY  - 2025
AB  - The effectiveness of radiation therapy can be enhanced by understanding the fragmentation mechanisms of iodine-doped DNA oligonucleotide under tender X-rays, as explored experimentally and computationally in our study. By primarily targeting iodine atoms above their L-edge ionization energies, we observed a significant increase in the production of fragments critical to DNA backbone breakage, particularly within mass ranges associated with phosphate and sugar groups. The mass spectroscopy experiments demonstrated that iodine-doped DNA oligonucleotides undergo intense fragmentation at long distances from the initial photoactivation site. Born–Oppenheimer based molecular dynamics simulations confirmed the generation of numerous small fragments, including reactive oxygen species, which are pivotal in enhancing the radiation damage. These findings highlight the effectiveness of iodine doping in amplifying DNA damage in radiotherapy via iodine photoactivation, thereby improving the potential for targeted cancer treatment.
LB  - PUB:(DE-HGF)16
DO  - DOI:10.1039/D5SC03414K
UR  - https://bib-pubdb1.desy.de/record/639380
ER  -