Patrzyc, H. B., Dawidzik, J. B., Budzinski, E. E., Iijima, H. and Box, H. C. Double Lesions are Produced in DNA Oligomer by Ionizing Radiation and by Metal-Catalyzed H₂O₂ Reactions.

It was demonstrated previously that double lesions are produced in DNA by ionizing radiation. These double lesions consist of adjacent nucleotides each bearing a modified base. The goal of the present investigation was to determine whether Fenton chemistry can generate the same kind of lesions. DNA oligomers were exposed to metal-catalyzed H₂O₂ reactions, and the products were characterized by chromatography and by mass spectrometry. Double lesions are produced by this treatment in which deoxyguanosine is oxidized to 8-oxo-7,8- dihydrodeoxyguanosine and an adjacent pyrimidine nucleoside is degraded to a formamido remnant.