skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Photoelectron spectroscopic studies of 5-halouracil anions

Journal Article · · Journal of Chemical Physics
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3525623· OSTI ID:21559970
; ; ; ;  [1];  [2];  [3]
  1. Department of Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218 (United States)
  2. Department of Chemistry, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan 48309 (United States)
  3. Department of Chemistry, University of Gdansk, 80-952 Gdansk (Poland)

The parent negative ions of 5-chlorouracil, UCl{sup -} and 5-fluorouracil, UF{sup -} have been studied using anion photoelectron spectroscopy in order to investigate the electrophilic properties of their corresponding neutral halouracils. The vertical detachment energies (VDE) of these anions and the adiabatic electron affinities (EA) of their neutral molecular counterparts are reported. These results are in good agreement with the results of previously published theoretical calculations. The VDE values for both UCl{sup -} and UF{sup -} and the EA values for their neutral molecular counterparts are much greater than the corresponding values for both anionic and neutral forms of canonical uracil and thymine. These results are consistent with the observation that DNA is more sensitive to radiation damage when thymine is replaced by halouracil. While we also attempted to prepare the parent anion of 5-bromouracil, UBr{sup -}, we did not observe it, the mass spectrum exhibiting only Br{sup -} fragments, i.e., 5-bromouracil apparently underwent dissociative electron attachment. This observation is consistent with a previous assessment, suggesting that 5-bromouracil is the best radio-sensitizer among these three halo-nucleobases.

OSTI ID:
21559970
Journal Information:
Journal of Chemical Physics, Vol. 134, Issue 1; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.3525623; (c) 2011 American Institute of Physics; ISSN 0021-9606
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English