TY - CONF A1 - Hahn, Marc Benjamin A1 - Solomun, Tihomir A1 - Sturm, Heinz T1 - Determination of the Microscopic Dose-Damage Relation for Radiation of different Linear Energy Transfer N2 - The determination of the microscopic dose-damage relationship for DNA in an aqueous environment is of a fundamental interest for dosimetry and applications in radiation therapy and protection. We combine geant4 particle-scattering simulations in water with calculations concerning the movement of biomolecules to obtain the energy deposit in the biologically relevant nanoscopic volume.[1] We juxtaposition these results to the experimentally determined damage to obtain the microscopic dose-damage relationship at a molecular level. This approach is tested for an experimentally challenging system concerning the direct irradiation of plasmid DNA (pUC19) in water with electrons as primary particles.[2] Here a microscopic target model for the plasmid DNA based on the relation of lineal energy and radiation quality is used to calculate the effective target volume. It was found that on average fewer than two ionizations within a 7.5-nm radius around the sugar-phosphate backbone are sufficient to cause a single strand break, with a corresponding median lethal energy deposit being E1/2=6±4 eV.[1] The presented method is applicable for ionizing radiation (e.g., γ rays, x rays, and electrons) and a variety of targets, such as DNA, proteins, or cells. [1] Hahn, M. B., Meyer, S., Kunte, H.-J., Solomun, T. & Sturm, H. Measurements and simulations of microscopic damage to DNA in water by 30 keV electrons: A general approach applicable to other radiation sources and biological targets. Phys. Rev. E 95, 052419 (2017). [2] Hahn, M. B. et al. Direct electron irradiation of DNA in a fully aqueous environment. Damage determination in combination with Monte Carlo simulations. Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 19, 1798–1805 (2017). T2 - DYSON 2018 CY - Potsdam, Germany DA - 08.10.2018 KW - DNA KW - Dosimetry KW - Electron irradiation KW - Geant4 KW - Hydroxyl radical KW - LET KW - Linear energy transfer KW - Low energy electrons KW - MCS KW - Microdosimetry KW - Monte-Carlo simulations KW - Radiation damage KW - Radiation therapy KW - SEM KW - Electron Microscope KW - LEE KW - Protein PY - 2018 AN - OPUS4-46383 LA - deu AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Hahn, Marc Benjamin T1 - Quantifizierung der Schädigung von DNA in wässriger Lösung unter direkter Elektronenbestrahlung N2 - To cure cancer radiation therapy is used to kill tumor cells. It is based on radiation induced damage to biomolecules. Especially DNA damage is of key interest due to its central role in apoptosis and mutation. Because of the high amount of water in biological tissue, most of the damage is caused by the secondary particles produced by the inelastic scattering of ionizing radiation and water. A detailed understanding of the underlying molecular processes under physiological conditions is the prerequisite to develop more efficient therapies. Goal of this work is to quantify the DNA damage caused by ionizing radiation in dependence of the inelastic scattering events and the energy deposit within the microscopic target volume of biological relevance. The irradiations have to be performed in liquid, under consideration of the chemical environment. Therefore, a new combination of experiment and Monte-Carlo simulations was developed and tested. To make it possible to irradiate liquids with electrons within scanning electron microscopes a new sample holder was constructed incorporating an electron transparent nanomembrane. It makes it possible to irradiate DNA, proteins or cells at different pH, salinity and in the presence of cosolutes. %The most important results of this work are as follows: The median lethal dose for a model system of plasmid DNA and water was determined by the combination of experimental data, particle scattering simulations (Geant4-DNA) and diffusion calculations as D0.5=(1.7+-0.3) Gy. From the convolution of plasmid positions and the spatially resolved energy deposit, as determined by electron scattering simulations, the histogram of the energy deposit within the target volume of the plasmids and the microscopic median lethal energy deposit was calculated as E0.5=6+-4eV. It could be deduced that on average less than two ionization events are sufficient to cause a single-strand-break. The relation of single-strand-breaks (SSB) to double-strand-breaks (DSB), which is of importance for microdosimetric modeling, was determined as SSB:DSB = 12:1. The presented method for the determination of microscopic dose-damage relations was further extended to be applicable for general irradiation experiments. It becomes independent of the type of primary radiation used, the experimental geometry, and the diffusional properties of the molecules under investigation. This way different experimental systems with varying, inhomogeneous energy deposit characteristics become comparable with each other, which is not possible when only macroscopic averaged values are taken into account. In addition, the radiation protection properties of the compatible solute ectoine, as well as its influence on the water properties and biomolecules were investigated. %In addition, the influence of the compatible solute ectoine on water, biomolecules and its radiation protection properties were investigated. Raman spectroscopy revealed a concentration dependent increase of the collective water modes in the OH-stretching region, which was found to be independent of the sodium chloride concentration. Molecular dynamic simulations showed that the zwitterionic properties of ectoine lead to its half-chair conformation. The hydrogen bonds in the first hydration shell are more stable and have an increased lifetime compared to the bulk water. Irradiation experiments with DNA in the presence of 1M ectoine revealed an increase of the survival rate by a factor of 1.41 as compared to the absence of ectoine. The protective properties of ectoine result from the increase of the inelastic scattering probabilities of low energy electrons at the acoustic vibrational modes of water and its properties as OH-radical scavenger. This was shown by Raman spectroscopy and electron paramagnetic resonance measurements (EPR). T2 - Vortrag CY - Freie Universität Berlin, Germany DA - 14.02.2018 KW - DNA KW - Radiation damage KW - Ionizing radiation KW - DNA strand break KW - Dosimetry KW - Microdosimetry KW - Ectoine KW - Ectoine radiation protection KW - Salt KW - Water PY - 2018 AN - OPUS4-44280 LA - deu AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Hahn, Marc Benjamin A1 - Solomun, Tihomir A1 - Sturm, Heinz T1 - Irradiation of biomolecules in liquid with electrons of different linear energy transfer N2 - The damage caused by ionizing radiation to DNA and proteins is the reason to treat cancer by radiation therapy. A better understanding of the molecular processes and quantification of the different damaging mechanisms is the prerequisite to develop more efficient therapies. Hereby the understanding of the processes involved in the damage to DNA are of key interest due to its central role in reproduction and mutation. For radiation with low linear energy transfer (LET), most of the damage is caused by the secondary particles produced by scattering of the ionizing radiation with water. Thereby a multitude of species are produced, whereby especially kinetic low energy electrons, prehydrated electrons, OH-radicals and ions are of importance. With higher LET the relative amount of the direct damaging effects increases. This is especially important considering the increased usage of high LET particles in radiation therapy. Therefore, the quantification of the contribution to DNA damage of direct and indirect effects and the different secondary species is of high interest due to the increase of radio biological efficiency when applying high LET radiation. Here we present an approach to investigate the relative contributions to DNA strand break yield for radiation of different LET within a single electron microscope in combination with electron scattering simulations. T2 - International workshop on radiation damage to DNA CY - Aussois, France DA - 27.05.2018 KW - Radiation damage KW - LET KW - Geant4 KW - DNA KW - Radiation therapy KW - Hydroxyl radical KW - Low energy electrons KW - Dosimetry KW - Microdosimetry KW - Electron irradiation KW - Sem KW - Linear energy transfer KW - MCS KW - Monte-Carlo simulations PY - 2018 AN - OPUS4-45103 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Hahn, Marc Benjamin A1 - Solomun, Tihomir A1 - Sturm, Heinz T1 - A standard procedure for the irradiation of biomolecules with radiation of varying linear energy transfer N2 - The damage caused by ionizing radiation to DNA and proteins is the reason to treat cancer by radiation therapy. A better understanding of the molecular processes and quantification of the different damaging mechanisms is the prerequisite to develop more efficient therapies. Hereby the understanding of the processes involved in the damage to DNA are of key interest due to its central role in reproduction and mutation. For radiation with low linear energy transfer (LET), most of the damage is caused by the secondary particles produced by scattering of the ionizing radiation with water. Thereby a multitude of species are produced, whereby especially kinetic low energy electrons, prehydrated electrons, OH-radicals and ions are of importance. With higher LET the relative amount of the direct damaging effects increases. This is especially important considering the increased usage of high LET nucleons in radiation therapy. Therefore, the quantification of the contribution to DNA damage of direct and indirect effects and the different secondary species is of high interest due to the increase of radio biological efficiency when applying high LET radiation. Here we present an approach to investigate the relative contributions to DNA strand break yield for radiation of different LET within a single electron microscope in combination with electron scattering simulations. T2 - IRPA 2018 CY - Havanna, Cuba DA - 16.04.2018 KW - Dosimetry KW - Microdosimetry KW - LET KW - SEM KW - DNA KW - Radiation damage KW - OH radicals KW - LEE KW - Ionizing radiation KW - Geant4 PY - 2018 AN - OPUS4-44820 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Hahn, Marc Benjamin A1 - Hallier, Dorothea C. A1 - Seitz, H. A1 - Smales, Glen Jacob T1 - Bio-SAXS of single-stranded DNA-binding proteins: Radiation protection by the compatible solute ectoine N2 - Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) can be used for structural determination of biological macromolecules and polymers in their native states (e.g. liquid phase). This means that the structural changes of (bio-)polymers, such as proteins and DNA, can be monitored in situ to understand their sensitivity to changes in chemical environments. In an attempt to improve the reliability of such experiments, the reduction of radiation damage occurring from exposure to X-rays is required. One such method, is to use scavenger molecules to protect macromolecules against radicals produced during radiation exposure, such as reactive oxygen species (ROS). In this study we investigate the feasibility of applying the compatible solute, osmolyte and radiation protector Ectoine (THP(B)), as a scavenger molecule during SAXS measurements of the single-stranded DNA-binding protein Gene-V Protein (G5P/GVP). In this case, we monitor the radiation induced changes of G5P during bio-SAXS measurments and the resulting microscopic energy-damage relation was determined from microdosimetric calculations by Monte-Carlo based particle scattering simulations with TOPAS/Geant4 and a custom target-model. This resulted in a median-lethal energy deposit of pure G5P at 4 mg mL−1 of E1/2 = 7 ± 5 eV, whereas a threefold increase of energy-deposit was needed under the presence of Ectoine to reach the same level of damage. This indicates that Ectoine increases the possible exposure time before radiation-damage to G5P is observed. Furthermore, the dominant type of damage shifted from aggregation in pure solutions towards a fragmentation for solutions containing Ectoine as a cosolute. These results are interpreted in terms of indirect radiation damage by reactive secondary species, as well as post-irradiation effects, related to preferential-exclusion of the cosolute from the protein surface. Hence, Ectoine is shown to provide a non-disturbing way to improve structure-determination of proteins via bio-SAXS in future studies. T2 - #RSCposter 2023 CY - Online meeting DA - 28.02.2023 KW - Bio-SAXS KW - BioSAXS KW - Cosolute KW - DNA KW - Dosimetry KW - Ectoin KW - Ectoine KW - G5P KW - GVP KW - Geant4 KW - Geant4-DNA KW - Ionizing radiation damage KW - LEE KW - McSAS3 KW - Microdosimetry KW - Monte-Carlo simulations KW - OH Radical KW - OH radical scavenger KW - Particle scattering simulations KW - Protein KW - Protein unfolding KW - Radiation damage KW - Radical Scavenger KW - SAXS KW - Single-stranded DNA-binding proteins KW - Small-angle xray scattering KW - Topas KW - Topas-MC KW - Topas-nBio KW - X-ray scattering KW - ssDNA KW - Osmolyte KW - Hydroxyectoine KW - Compatible solute KW - ROS KW - radical scavenger PY - 2023 UR - https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2023/cp/d2cp05053f AN - OPUS4-57064 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -