Irradiator to study damage induced to large nonvolatile molecules by low-energy electrons
- Group in the Radiation Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, J1H 5N4 (Canada)
We report on the design and performance of an irradiator to study the fragmentation of large nonvolatile molecules induced by low-energy electron impact under ultrahigh vacuum. The apparatus consists essentially of a new type of electron gun which can bombard molecules spin-coated on the inside surface of a cylinder. With this configuration, it is possible to irradiate a relatively large area (26 cm{sup 2}) of a solid molecular film and thus, produce a sufficient amount of degraded material for subsequent analysis, outside vacuum, of the compounds remaining on the inner surface of the cylinder. The electron energy is tunable from 3 to 130{+-}0.5 eV and the current density adjustable up to 2.6{+-}0.5x10{sup 12} electron s{sup -1} cm{sup -2}, respectively. Choosing thymidine as a model system for deoxyribose nucleic acid damage, we show that nonvolatile fragments produced by 5-100 eV electron irradiation can be characterized by high-pressure liquid chromatography/ultraviolet detector and gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy.
- OSTI ID:
- 20643995
- Journal Information:
- Review of Scientific Instruments, Vol. 75, Issue 11; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.1804815; (c) 2004 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0034-6748
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
BIOLOGICAL RADIATION EFFECTS
CURRENT DENSITY
DEOXYRIBOSE
DNA
EV RANGE 01-10
FRAGMENTATION
GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY
HIGH-PERFORMANCE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY
MASS SPECTROSCOPY
MOLECULES
SULFUR IONS
THYMIDINE
ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION