A fast kinetics study of the modes of action of some different radiosensitizers in bacteria.

Using a fast mixing a irradiation technique, the gas explosion method, with Serratia marcescents, the decay of oxygen-dependent damage is found to consist of a fast and a slow stage, each of which is associated with a sub-component of this damage. In the present work, the interactions of these components with radiosensitizers are examined. At low concentrations O2, TAN (a nitroxyl) and misonidazole all preferentially sensitize the slow-stage damage. At higher concentrations, O2 and TAN sensitize the fast-stage damage by a fixation reaction that competes with its repair; in contrast, misonidazole appears mainly to operate by reaction with an earlier, ever shorter form of oxygen-dependent damage.