The irradiation of glycylglycine in aqueous solution - A case study of calculations from track structure to biochemical change

The authors have carried out detailed Monte Carlo calculations of electron tracks produced by X rays in liquid water. The calculations start with the initial physical interactions and proceed in time with radical formation and subsequent chemical changes. They have treated the explicit chemical changes that occur when the dipeptide glycylglycine is present and have calculated the yields of various chemical products. They have also measured the chemical yields under the same experimental conditions as were assumed in the computations. Excellent agreement is obtained between the results of the measurements and the calculations. This work was carried out as a step toward the study of the more complicated DNA. These studies represent the first detailed linking of the basic physics of radiation interaction with the later observed biochemical effects