Hydrogen abstraction by photoexcited benzophenone: consequences for DNA photosensitization
International audience; We report a computational investigation of the hydrogen abstraction (H-abstraction) induced by triplet benzophenone (3BP) on thymine nucleobase and backbone sugar. The chemical process is studied using both high level multiconfigurational perturbation and density functional theory. Both methods show good agreement in predicting small kinetic barriers. Furthermore the behavior of benzophenone in DNA is simulated using molecular dynamics and hybrid quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics methods. The accessibility of benzophenone to the labile hydrogens within B-DNA is demonstrated, as well as the driving force for this reaction. We evidence a strong dependence of the H-…
Resolving the Benzophenone DNA-Photosensitization Mechanism at QM/MM Level
International audience; Benzophenone, the parent of the diarylketone family, is a versatile compound commonly used as a UV blocker. It may also trigger triplet-based DNA photosensitization. Therefore, benzophenone is involved in DNA photodamage induction. In the absence of experimentally resolved structure, the mechanism of DNA damage production remains elusive. Employing a hybrid quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics approach, here we address the spin transfer mechanism between this drug and proximal thymine, that is, the DNA nucleobase most prone to suffer triplet damages.