Specificity of DNA damage formation induced by femtosecond near-infrared laser filamentation in water

Abstract

We investigated the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) damage induced by laser filamentation, which was generated by focusing femtosecond near-infrared Ti:Sapphire laser light in water at several repetition rates ranging from 1000 Hz to 10 Hz. Using plasmid DNA (pUC19), the single-strand break, double-strand break, nucleobase lesions, and the fragmented DNA were analyzed and quantified by agarose gel electrophoresis. Additionally, the H₂O₂ concentration after irradiation was determined. We observed that (1) the DNA damage per laser shot and (2) the enzyme-sensitive base lesions per total DNA damage decreased as the laser repetition rate increased. Furthermore, (3) extraordinarily short DNA fragments were likely to be produced, compared with those produced using X-rays, and (4) most OH radicals could be eliminated by recombination to generate H₂O₂, preventing them from damaging the DNA. The Monte-Carlo simulation of the strand break formation implies that the observed dependency of strand break efficiency on the laser repetition rate is mainly due to diffusion of DNA molecules. These findings quantitatively and qualitatively revealed that an intense laser pulse induces a specific DNA damage profile that is not induced by X-rays, a sparsely ionizing radiation source.

Keywords: DNA damage; Femtosecond laser; Filamentation; Hydroxyl radical; Near-infrared; Repetition rate.