Nanomechanical Fingerprints of UV Damage To DNA

Abstract

Doing damage to DNA: The effects of UV radiation on the mechanics of individual DNA duplexes (see picture) are revealed by AFM-based spectroscopy. It is found that the width of the characteristic B–S plateau in the force spectrogram of irradiated DNA shortens in a UV-dose-dependent manner. These mechanical effects likely represent the local unwinding of the double helix caused by a massive formation of pyrimidine dimers and 6–4 lesions.