Physics and Chemistry of Radiation Damage to DNA and Its Consequences

Dear Colleagues,

Genetic information in living systems is stored in DNA molecules consisting of nucleobases (pyrimidines and purines), sugar (deoxyribose), and phosphate. The information processing necessary for various functions is carried out through the genetic code, determined by the base sequence. Therefore, any perturbation in the structure of DNA molecules profoundly affects the performance and survival of living organisms. Experimental evidence indicates that damage to DNA molecules is the most important cause of cell death, mutation, and transformations induced by ionizing radiation. Studies are being undertaken to further our understanding of the various mechanisms underlying DNA damage and its repair in cells as this knowledge can serve as a basis for predicting the shapes and slopes of the dose–response curves of biological effects induced by different types of radiation (high LET or low LET) and dose rates (FLASH). As such, our aim should be to develop radioprotectors to prevent radiation-induced injuries to healthy tissues and radiosensitizers to enhance damage to cancer cells, which may lead to improvements in radiotherapy protocols, enabling a high likelihood of cure without any significant morbidity to be achieved at non-toxic concentrations of radiomodifiers. The development of effective and non-toxic radiomodifiers is also of interest for space flights, the nuclear industry, and the prevention of radiation accidents. The following Special Issue aims to address the physical, physicochemical, and biochemical events involved in radiation-mediated DNA and RNA damage formation and its biochemical processing, including the role of epigenetics, radiomodifiers, and cancer therapeutics.

Submissions made to this Special Issue of the journal DNA may include papers covering the following topics:

• Track structure calculations, applications in DNA damage formation, and its effects on DNA, nucleohistones, cells, tissues, etc.
• The chemistry of DNA damage leading to the formation of various types of lesions as a result of different quantities of radiation and the effect of dose rate.
• Influence of the environment (hydration, oxygen, proteins, bound molecules, temperature) on lesion formation.
• The role of epigenetics
• Processing DNA lesions and their consequences in repair.
• Radiosensitizers and radioprotectors.
• The role of nanoparticles.
• Tumor radiotherapy

Prof. Dr. Amitava Adhikary
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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