Comparisons between the Direct and Indirect Effect of 1.5 keV X-rays and 0–30 eV Electrons on DNA: Base Lesions, Stand Breaks, Cross-Links, and Cluster Damages

The interaction of low energy electrons (LEEs; 1-30 eV) with genomic material can induce multiple types of damage that may cause the loss of genetic information, mutations, genome instability, and cell death. For all damages measurable by electrophoresis, we provide the first complete set of <i>G</i>-values (yield of a specific product per energy deposited) induced in plasmid DNA by the direct and indirect effects of LEEs (<i>G</i>_LEE) and 1.5 keV X-rays (<i>G</i>_X) under identical conditions. Low energy photoelectrons are produced via X-rays incident on a tantalum (Ta) substrate covered with DNA and placed in a chamber filled with nitrogen at atmospheric pressure, under four different humidity levels, ranging from dry conditions to full hydration (Γ = 2.5 to Γ = 33, where Γ is the number of water molecules/nucleotide). Damage yields are measured as a function of X-ray fluence and humidity. <i>G</i>_LEE values are between 2 and 27 times larger than those for X-rays. At Γ = 2.5 and 33, <i>G</i>_LEE values for double strand breaks are 27 and 16 times larger than <i>G</i>_X, respectively. The indirect effect contributes ∼50% to the total damage. These <i>G</i>-values allow quantification of potentially lethal lesions composed of strand breaks and/or base damages in the presence of varying amounts of water, i.e., closer to cellular conditions.