Characterizing Radiation-Induced Oxidation of DNA by Way of the Monohydrated Guanine−Cytosine Radical Cation

Abstract

The interaction of one water molecule with the guanine-cytosine radical cation has been studied with ab initio and density functional methods in order to help elucidate the nature of oxidized aqueous DNA. The theoretical spin density of [GC]*(+) reveals that the radical center is localized on guanine. The adiabatic ionization potential lowers from 7.63 to 6.71 eV in concurrence with the formation of the Watson-Crick base pair and hydration by one water molecule. A natural bond orbital analysis of partial charges shows that approximately 80% of the positive charge persists on guanine upon hydration and formation of the Watson-Crick base pair with cytosine. Hydration energies were computed with second-order Z-averaged perturbation theory (ZAPT2) using the aug-cc-pVDZ basis set at 11 stationary points on the B3LYP/DZP++ potential energy surface. The hydration energy at the global minimum is 14.2 kcal mol(-1). The lowest energy structures correspond to hydration near the glycosidic bond sites. Structural changes in the Watson-Crick base pair are predominantly seen for monohydration in the groove regions of double-helix DNA.