Photochemical studies of thymine in ice.

Abstract

Abstract— Solutions containing various concentrations of thymine have been irradiated (254 nm) at — 196°, and the corresponding absorbance changes at 315 nm due to thymine‐thymine adduct formation have been followed as a function of dose. The maximum yield of the adduct is about 3–2 per cent. Additional irradiation leads to a reduction in the yield of adduct and to an increase in the yield of the proposed trimer, which shows a sigmoid dose response curve. Not more than 10 per cent of the thymine is converted to trimer. Irradiation of the trimer in solution converts it into adduct plus thymine. Fluorescence due to the adduct does not appear directly after irradiation at — 196°, but comes about upon annealing at elevated temperatures (T > ‐ 80°).