Physico-chemical studies of radiation effects in cells. Progress report, November 15, 1980-February 14, 1984

The primary interest is investigating and understanding the chemical mechanisms involved in radiation-induced cellular damage. Most recently the perturbating devices have been metals which increase, in various ways and modes, the radiation sensitivity of several cell types. While the chief cell type has been the bacterial spore, chosen because of its biological inertness and its hardiness, allowing it to survive the unphysiological conditions of the physical chemist and, thus, inquiry into the free radical mechanisms involved very soon after energy absorption, recently vegetative cells have been introduced. A number of metals have been used and practically all of them sensitize - but to varying degrees. Straight biological techniques such as the measurement of cell survival under various conditions in the different cells have been used, as well as parallel experiments in pulse radiolysis to attack the specific leads in a chemical fashion suggested by the biology