Time-resolved spectroscopy and fluorescence resonance energy transfer in the study of excimer laser damage of chromatin

The analysis of chromatin damage produced by a 248 nm excimer laser radiation, for doses of 0.3–3 MJ/m2 was carried out by time-resolved spectroscopy and fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET). The chromatin was extracted from a normal and a tumoral tissue of Wistar rats. The decrease with laser dose of the relative contribution of the excited state lifetimes of ethidium bromide (EtBr) bounded to chromatin constitutes an evidence of the reduction of chromatin deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) double-strand structure. FRET was performed from dansyl chloride to acridine orange, both coupled to chromatin. The increase of the average distance between these ligands, under the action of laser radiation, reflects a loosening of the chromatin structure. The radiosensitivity of tumor tissue chromatin is higher than that of a normal tissue. The determination of the chromatin structure modification in an excimer laser field can be of interest in laser therapy.