Abstract
Collisions of 0–4 eV electrons with thin DNA films are shown to produce single strand breaks. The yield is sharply structured as a function of electron energy and indicates the involvement of shape resonances in the bond breaking process. The cross sections are comparable in magnitude to those observed in other compounds in the gas phase in which electrons are transferred through the molecule to break a remote bond. The results therefore support aspects of a theoretical study by Barrios et al. [J. Phys. B 106, 7991 (2002)] indicating that such a mechanism could produce strand breaks in DNA.
- Received 15 March 2004
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.93.068101
©2004 American Physical Society