Methylation reaction for four DNA base molecules by methanediazonium ions

The methylation reactions at ten nucleophilic sites in four DNA base molecules with methanediazonium ions (CH₃N₂ ⁺) have been theoretically investigated including solvent effects at the B3LYP/6-31G^** and MP2/6-31G^** levels. The results show that all the methylation reactions have relatively small activation energy (<33.5 kJ/mol), and the methylation process is exothermic reaction and easy to occur. This study shows that the ultimate carcinogen CH₃N₂ ⁺ by NDMA can easily methylate DNA base molecules and form carcinogenic products. Supported by the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission (Grant No. YYY-07015) and Shanghai Institute of Technology (Grant No. YJ2007-36)