Despite a few decades of intense study, a full description of tautomers of one-electron-oxidized guanine remains to be achieved. Here we show that two of these tautomers are produced by the protonation of an 8-haloguanine electron adduct. The rate constants for the reactions of hydrated electrons (eaq -) with a variety of 8-substituted guanine derivatives have been measured by a pulse radiolysis technique and correlated with both inductive and resonance components of the substituents. The fate of electron adducts was investigated by radiolytic methods coupled with product studies and addressed computationally by means of time-dependent DFT (TD-B3LYP/6-311G**//B1B95/6-31+G**) calculations. The reaction of eaq - with 8-haloguanosine or 8-halo-2‘-deoxyguanosine produces the first observable transient species that decay unimolecularly (k = 1 × 105 s-1 at 22 °C) to give the one-electron oxidized guanosine or 2‘-deoxyguanosine. Theory suggests that the electron adducts of 8-bromoguanine derivatives protonated at C8 form a π-complex, with the Br atom situated above the molecular plane, that is prompt to eject Br-. The two short-lived intermediates, which show a substantial difference in their absorption spectra, are recognized to be the two purine tautomers (i.e., iminic 7 and aminic 3 forms). The spin density distributions of the two tautomers are quite different at the O6 and N10 positions, whereas they are very similar at the N3, C5, and C8 positions. The resonance structures of the two tautomers are discussed in some detail. B1B95/6-31+G** calculations show also that the tautomerization from the iminic (7) to the aminic (3) arrangement is a water-assisted process.

Aminic or iminic: Two tautomeric forms of oxidized guanosine have been produced by chemical radiation methods—by direct oxidation of guanosine or from the protonation of the 8‐bromoguanosine electron adduct—and identified. The tautomerization from the iminic to the aminic arrangement has an activation energy of 23.0 kJ mol−1 and occurs through a complex transition state (see scheme).

The factors that influence the reactivity of C5' radicals in purine moieties under aerobic conditions are unknown not only in DNA, but also in simple nucleosides. 5',8-Cyclopurine lesions are the result of a rapid C5' radical attack to the purine moieties before the reaction with oxygen. These well-known lesions among the DNA modifications were suppressed by the presence of molecular oxygen in solution. Here we elucidate the chemistry of three purine-substituted C5' radicals (i.e., 2'-deoxyadenosin-5'-yl, 2'-deoxyinosin-5'-yl, and 2'-deoxyguanosin-5'-yl) under oxidative conditions using gamma-radiolysis coupled with product studies. 2'-Deoxyadenosin-5'-yl and 2'-deoxyinosin-5'-yl radicals were selectively generated by the reaction of hydrated electrons (e(aq)(-)) with 8-bromo-2'-deoxyadenosine and 8-bromo-2'-deoxyinosine followed by a rapid radical translocation from the C8 to the C5' position. Trapping these two C5' radicals with Fe(CN)6(3-) gave corresponding hydrated 5'-aldehydes in good yields that were isolated and fully characterized. When an oxygen concentration in the range of 13-266 microM (typical oxygenated tissues) is used, the hydrated 5'-aldehyde is accompanied by the 5',8-cyclopurine nucleoside. The formation of 5',8-cyclopurines is relevant in all experiments, and the yields increased with decreasing O2 concentration. The reaction of HO(*) radicals with 2'-deoxyadenosine and 2'-deoxyguanosine under normoxic conditions was also investigated. The minor path of C5' radicals formation was found to be ca. 10% by quantifying the hydrated 5'-aldehyde in both experiments. Rate constants for the reactions of the 2'-deoxyadenosin-5'-yl with cysteine and glutathione in water were determined by pulse radiolysis to be (2.1 +/- 0.5) x 10(7) and (4.9 +/- 0.6) x 10(7) M(-1) s(-1) at 22 degrees C, respectively.

The excess electron transfer in a G-quadruplex is successfully probed by using the reaction of hydrated electrons with quadruplex complex of pentamers and the 8-bromoguanine moieties as the detection system.