Eur. Phys. J. D (2012) 66: 206
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjd/e2012-30180-7

Regular Article

Double strand breaks in DNA resulting from double ionization events

¹ Department of Physics, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan 48309, USA
² Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies, Ruth-Moufang-Str. 1, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
³ On leave from A.F. Ioffe Physical Technical Institute, 194021 St. Petersburg, Russian Federation

^a e-mail: surdutov@oakland.edu

Received: 16 March 2012
Received in final form: 18 May 2012
Published online: 16 August 2012

Abstract

A mechanism of double strand breaking in DNA due to the action of two electrons is considered. These are the electrons produced in the vicinity of DNA molecules due to ionization of water molecules with a consecutive emission of two electrons, making such a mechanism possible. The transport of secondary electrons, including the additional electrons, is studied in relation to the assessment of radiation damage due to incident ions. This work is a stage in the inclusion of double ionization events into the multiscale approach to ion-beam cancer therapy.