In the search for effective radiosensitizers for tumor cells, halogenated uracils have attracted more attention due to their large cross section for dissociation upon the attachment of low-energy electrons. In this study, we investigated dissociative electron attachment (DEA) to 5-iodo-4-thio-2'-deoxyuridine, a potential radiosensitizer using a crossed electron-molecule beam experiment coupled with quadrupole mass spectrometry....

In this work, we have synthesized 5-thiocyanato-2′-deoxyuridine (SCNdU) along with the C6-deuterated nucleobase 5-thiocyanatouracil (6-D-SCNU) and studied their reactions with radiation-produced electrons. ESR spectra in γ-irradiated nitrogen-saturated frozen homogeneous solutions (7.5 M LiCl in H2O or D2O) of these compounds show that electron-induced S–CN bond cleavage occurs to form a thiyl radical (dU-5-S˙ or 6-D-U-5-S˙) and...

X-ray irradiation of plasmid DNA in presence of platinum (II)-based compounds was carried out in order to assess the radiosensitization capabilities of these drugs. In present investigations pBR322 plasmid DNA was used to monitor the effectiveness of chosen compounds in inducing strand breaks. Samples were incubated in the presence of potential radiosensitisers: platinum (II) bromide and cis-diamminedibromoplatinum (II). The results...

Degradation mechanism of four brominated nucleobases (BrX), potential DNA radiosensitizers, is studied in explicit water solution, using ab initio molecular dynamics. Several fs long dynamics is needed to localize an electron on the nucleobase. Produced by electron attachment BrX anion radical degrades through the bromide anion abstraction, barrier-free (purines) or with low barrier (pyrimidines), to a reactive nucleobase radical....

Two nanometre gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), bearing sugar moieties and/or polyethylene glycolamine (PEG-amine), were synthesised and evaluated for their in vitro toxicity and ability to radiosensitise cells with 220 kV and 6 MV X-rays, using four cell lines representing normal and cancerous skin and breast tissues. In addition to the observed intrinsic cancer-selective chemotoxicity, these AuNPs acted as radiosensitisers in combination with...