The Mechanism of Anaerobic, Radical‐Induced DNA Strand Scission

After selective generation of the mononucleotide radical 1, the formation and reactions of radical cation 2 could be studied. Trapping with allyl alcohol, which is known to trap both cations and radicals, gave primarily the bicyclic product 3. With methanol several intermediates could be trapped, the hydrolysis products of which correspond to DNA cleavage products. 4′-Deoxyribonucleotide radicals are proposed as intermediates in radical-induced DNA strand scission. ℗  P(O)(OEt)2, b  thymine.