https://doi.org/10.1140/epjd/s10053-025-01069-9
Colloquium - Atoms, Molecules, Ions, and Clusters
Cellular DNA damage induced by low-energy (0–20 eV) electrons
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Department of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, J1H 5N4, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada
a
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Received:
3
July
2025
Accepted:
15
September
2025
Published online:
7
October
2025
Abstract
In this article, different types of experiments are suggested to further investigate the interactions of low-energy (0–20 eV) electrons (LEEs) with DNA under conditions increasingly closer to those of living cells. Their feasibility is illustrated by describing the methods involved, together with recently obtained results. These include LEE-impact experiments on plasmid films surrounded by water and oxygen or modified to account for the presence of amino acids bound to DNA in the nucleus. Measurements of cellular behavior due to DNA damage induced by LEEs generated outside or inside the cell are also described. The former shows a direct correspondence between the decay of core-excited transient anions into destructive channels and the decrease of cellular functionality. Using femtosecond lasers, it is also possible to directly probe the action of LEEs in living cells. In these experiments, the LEE energy distribution in the cellular medium and the time required for the biological response must be considered. The generation of LEE distributions is discussed in terms of the present limit of stochastic model calculations to include the quantum behavior of LEEs, and the biological response, which requires considerable knowledge of the molecular biology involved to reach a detailed interpretation of the dose–response curves. An improved fundamental understanding of the action of LEEs in the cell nucleus is expected to assist in the targeting of radiosensitizing molecules toward the most vulnerable sites in DNA and hence improve chemoradiation therapy.
Copyright comment Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to EDP Sciences, SIF and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2025
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
