Electron-induced degradation of 8-bromo-2'-deoxyadenosine 3',5'-diphosphate, a DNA radiosensitizing nucleotide.

The phosphodiester bond cleavage in 8-bromo-2'-deoxyadenosine 3',5'-diphosphate (BrdADP), as a model of electron induced single strand break (SSB) in labeled DNA, was investigated at the B3LYP/6-31++G(d,p) level of theory both in the gas phase and in water solution. Barrier-free and highly exergonic, especially in water solution (-2.83 eV), release of the bromide anion due to electron attachment confirms radiosensitizing properties of 8-bromoadenine. Thermodynamically (-19 kcal/mol) and kinetically (barrier of 10-13 kcal/mol) feasible hydrogen atom transfer from the C3' or C5' sites of the deoxyribose moiety to the C8 center of adenine radical is followed by a relatively low (14-18 kcal/mol) activation barrier O-P bond cleavage at either the 3'- or the 5'-site. The C5' radical may also stabilize via the formation of 5',8-cycloadenosine. The latter process has favorable thermodynamic and kinetic characteristics, which makes the O-P bond breakage at the 5'-site highly unlikely. Thus, the O-P cleavage reaction, being an equivalent of SSB in DNA labeled with 8-bromoadenine, should lead to the formation of cyclic ketone, which if identified in a radiolytic experiment, would confirm the mechanism proposed in the current study.