Picosecond two-quantum UV photochemistry of thymine in aqueous solution

Two-quantum photochemical processes, taking place under high-intensity UV laser irradiation of biomolecules in aqueous solution, have been studied with thymine, one of the DNA bases, as an example. It has been found that two-step high-energy excitation of thymine results not only in its ionization and relaxation but also in electronic energy transfer to the solvent, water. The probabilities of primary photoprocesses from the high-lying electronic vibrational states of thymine have been measured. It has been shown that the radicals of the solvent, water, formed by its sensitized photodecomposition and also by direct two-photon ionization and dissociation make the basic contribution to the formation of the final chemically stable products in the picosecond UV photolysis of thymine in aqueous solution.