Honors Program
University Honors
Date of Award
5-2013
Thesis Professor(s)
Yuriy Razskazovskiy
Thesis Professor Department
Physics and Astronomy
Thesis Reader(s)
David M. Close, Scott Kirkby
Abstract
A group of prospective drugs with the aromatic di-N-oxide (ANO) functionality as the common feature are currently undergoing testing for the ability to selectively target tumors surrounded by normal tissues. It has been long recognized that the mechanism of biological activity of these drugs involves DNA damage by free radical species generated through one-electron reduction, although the exact nature of the reactive intermediate responsible for DNA damage remains uncertain. It is believed, however, that one of the key factors defining, in particular, hypoxic selectivity of these drugs is the rate of N-O bond scission in the one-electron reduced intermediate. In this study we have made an attempt to verify whether the predictions made in the literature regarding the N-O bond dissociation rate in a related class of derivatives are applicable to the same process in ANO. For that purpose both theoretical (electronic structure calculations) and experimental (Electron Spin Resonance spectroscopy) have been employed. While our results are not conclusive, they have laid the groundwork for future studies.
Document Type
Honors Thesis - Open Access
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Miller, Olivia, "Reactive Intermediates in Hypoxia-Selective DNA Damage." (2013). Undergraduate Honors Theses. Paper 73. https://dc.etsu.edu/honors/73
Copyright
Copyright by the authors.