Radiation effects in biological systems

Abstract

SynopsisThis paper presents a chemist's view of the action of ionising radiation on matter with a range of simple examples. Attention is given to the ways in which electron spin resonance spectroscopy (which is described briefly) can be harnessed to give useful information about the initial stages of radiation damage. The effects of radiation are generally indiscriminate and hence damage to water is of special importance in biological systems. Water-derived free radicals will attack biomolecules (the indirect effect) and this mechanism is compared with direct damage events. Also, examples are given of some remarkably discriminate radiation-induced reactions.Specific attention is given to radiation-induced damage to proteins, and especially to aqueous DNA and DNA in chromatin and in cells. The importance of DNA strand-breaks is discussed in relation to both the production of mutations and cell death.