Mass Spectrometric Investigation of Anions Formed upon Free Electron Attachment to Nucleobase Molecules and Clusters Embedded in Superfluid Helium Droplets

Journal Article · Fri Jul 28 00:00:00 EDT 2006 · Physical Review Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PHYSREVLETT.97.043201· OSTI ID:20860570

Denifl, Stephan; Zappa, Fabio; Maehr, Ingo; Lecointre, Julien; Probst, Michael; Maerk, Tilmann D; Scheier, Paul ^[1]

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1. Institut fuer Ionenphysik und Angewandte Physik and Center for Molecular Biosciences Innsbruck, Leopold Franzens Universitaet Innsbruck, Technikerstrasse 25, A-6020 Innsbruck (Austria)

Here we report the first mass spectrometric study of negative ions formed via free electron attachment (EA) to nucleobases (NBs) embedded in helium clusters. Pure and mixed clusters of adenine and thymine have been formed by pickup of isolated NB molecules by cold helium droplets. In contrast to EA of isolated molecules in the gas phase we observe a long-lived parent anion NB{sup -} and, in addition, parent cluster ions NB{sub n}{sup -} up to size n=6. Moreover, we show that a low energy electron penetrating into a doped helium droplet causes efficient damage of the embedded nucleobases via resonant, site selective, dissociative electron attachment.

• OSTI ID: 20860570
• Journal Information: Physical Review Letters, Vol. 97, Issue 4; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.97.043201; (c) 2006 The American Physical Society; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0031-9007
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS
ADENINES
ANIONS
DOPED MATERIALS
DROPLETS
ELECTRON ATTACHMENT
ELECTRONS
HELIUM
ION PAIRS
MASS SPECTROSCOPY
MOLECULES
SUPERFLUIDITY
THYMINE