Journal of Physical Chemistry B, Vol.114, No.34, 11353-11362, 2010
The Anionic (9-Methyladenine)-(1-Methylthymine) Base Pair Solvated by Formic Acid. A Computational and Photoelectron Spectroscopy Study
The photoelectron spectrum for (1-methylthymine)-(9-methyladenine)center dot center dot center dot(formic acid) (1MT-9MA center dot center dot center dot FA) anions with the maximum at ca. 1.87 eV was recorded with 2.54 eV photons and interpreted through the quantum-chemical modeling carried out at the B3LYP/6-31+G(d,p) level. The relative free energies of the anions and their calculated vertical detachment energies suggest that only seven anionic structures contribute to the observed PES signal. We demonstrate that electron binding to the (1MT-9MA center dot center dot center dot FA) complex can trigger intermolecular proton transfer from formic acid, leading to the strong stabilization of the resulting radical anion. The SOMO distribution indicates that an excess electron may localize not only on the pyrimidine but also on the purine moiety. The biological context of DNA-environment interactions concerning the formation of single-strand breaks induced by excess electrons has been briefly discussed.