Single crystals of the amino acid l-α-alanine have been X-irradiated at room temperature, and the free radical formation has been studied using X-band and K-band EPR, ENDOR, and EIE (ENDOR-induced EPR) spectroscopy in the temperature interval 220−295 K. Aided by the results from EIE, as well as ENDOR from selected magnetic field positions, nine hyperfine coupling tensors were obtained and assigned to three different radicals. Room-temperature relaxation behaviors characterized by efficient W1 x and W1e and by slow W1 n relaxation rates allowed for determination of the signs of the various hyperfine couplings from the ENDOR spectra obtained at room temperature. The temperature dependence of the W1 x relaxation is qualitatively discussed. The EPR spectra from alanine are dominated by the well-known resonance of the “stable alanine radical”, SAR, formed by a net deamination of the protonated alanine anion. Precise hyperfine coupling tensors due to the α-proton coupling, the methyl group coupling, and a dipolar coupling to a methyl group of a neighboring molecule, as well as the g tensor, are given for this radical. Spectral simulations show that these parameters in a satisfactory manner reproduce all observable features of the resonance from this radical. Radical R2, apparently formed in roughly the same amounts as SAR, exhibits the structure H3N+−•C(CH3)C(O)O-. It is formed from alanine by a net H-abstraction from the Cα position. The hyperfine coupling tensor to the freely rotating methyl group was obtained from both X-band and K-band data. K-band spectra obtained at several temperatures between 220 and 290 K revealed that the amino group is not freely rotating; that is, the three protons of the amino group are locked in their hydrogen bonds also after radical formation. A significant increase in ENDOR line widths upon increasing temperature made the ENDOR lines due to the amino protons practically nonobservable at 295 K. However, the three corresponding hyperfine coupling tensors were easily obtained from K-band ENDOR data at 220 K. The B 0 and B 2 values for β-coupling to N+−H fragments were determined to be −4.3 and 117.6 MHz, respectively. Due to partly unresolved nitrogen hyperfine interaction leading to larger line widths, the individual EPR lines from radical R2 are of far less intensity as compared to those of the SAR. However, simulations strongly indicate that there is an almost equal relative distribution (60%:40%) of the two radicals. Two hyperfine coupling tensors were assigned to two conformations of a third minority radical species (radical R3) which tentatively is suggested to be the species H2N−•C(CH3)C(OH)O. Possible mechanisms for the formation of the radicals are discussed in light of the basic radiation chemistry of the amino acids. The simultaneous presence of two stable radicals of similar relative amounts in alanine may have consequences for the use of alanine as a radiation dosimeter.

Single crystals of 2'-deoxyguanosine 5'-monophosphate were X-irradiated at 10 K and at 65 K, receiving doses between 4.5 and 200 kGy, and studied using K-band EPR, ENDOR, and field-swept ENDOR (FSE) spectroscopy. Evidence for five base-centered and more than nine sugar-centered radicals was found at 10 K following high radiation doses. The base-centered radicals were the charged anion, the N10-deprotonated cation, the C8 H-addition radical, a C5 H-addition radical, and finally a stable radical so far unidentified but with parameters similar to those expected for the charged cation. The sugar-centered radicals were the H-abstraction radicals centered at C1', C2', C3', and C5', an alkoxy radical centered at O3', a C5'-centered radical in which the C5'-O5' phosphoester bond appears to be ruptured, a radical tentatively assigned to a C4'-centered radical involving a sugar-ring opening, as well as several additional unidentified sugar radicals. Most radicals were formed regardless of radiation doses. All radicals formed following low doses (4.5-9 kGy) were also observed subsequent to high doses (100-200 kGy). The relative amount of some of the radicals was dose dependent, with base radicals dominating at low doses, and a larger relative yield of sugar radicals at high doses. Above 200 K a transformation from a sugar radical into a base radical occurred. Few other radical transformations were observed. In the discussion of primary radicals fromed in DNA, the presence of sugar-centered radicals has been dismissed since they are not apparent in the EPR spectra. The present data illustrate how radicals barely traceable in the EPR spectra may be identified due to strong ENDOR resonances. Also, the observation of a stable radical with parameters similar to those expected for the charge guanine cation is interesting with regard to the nature of the primary radicals stabilized in X-irradiated DNA.

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One of the major stable radiation-induced radicals in sucrose single crystals (radical T2) has been identified by means of density functional theory (DFT) calculations of electron magnetic resonance parameters. The radical is formed by a net glycosidic bond cleavage, giving rise to a glucose-centered radical with the major part of the spin density residing at the C 1 carbon atom. A concerted formation of a carbonyl group at the C 2 carbon accounts for the relatively small spin density at C 1 and the enhanced g factor anisotropy of the radical, both well-known properties of this radical from several previous experimental investigations. The experimentally determined and DFT calculated proton hyperfine coupling tensors agree very well on all accounts. The influence of the exact geometrical configuration of the radical and its environment on the tensors is explored in an attempt to explain the occurrence and characteristics of radical T3, another major species that is most likely another conformation of T2. No definitive conclusions with regard to the actual structure of T3 could be arrived at from this study. However, the results indicate that, most likely, T3 is identical in chemical structure to T2 and that changes in the orientation of neighboring hydroxy groups or changes in the configuration of the neighboring fructose ring can probably not account for the type and size of the discrepancies between T2 and T3.