Model system approach to the study of UV induced DNA protein crosslink reactions

In this thesis the photoreaction leading from 5-benzyluracil (5BU) to the formation of a cyclized compound, the 5,6BU is studied using several ab initio molecular dynamics computational methods. The reaction is studied as model for the UV induced DNA protein crosslink reaction. The exploration of the reaction mechanism provides new insights in the construction of an efficient methodology to stabilize with UV puled lasers the transient interactions between DNA and close lying proteins in a biological environment.