Untersuchungen zur Wirkung von monochromatischer Vakuum-UV-Strahlung auf DNS

Inactivation cross sections of infectious ΦΧ-174-DNA in the extreme vacuum-ultraviolet were determined by irradiation of thin layers with monochromatic light down to 584 Å by means of a powerful grating-monochromator, the elements of which are described. Comparison of inactivation and light-induced electron emission shows that light of quantum energies below 7 eV inactivates by excitation only, whereas above 10.2 eV ionization is the predominant inactivation mechanism. Because of the satisfactory agreement of the curves for inactivation and electron emission, it is conducted that the remarkable increase of the inactivation cross section in the region of the short wavelength vacuum-uv is due to increasing ionization probability.