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Summary
Irradiation of neutral aqueous solutions of thymine in the presence of ethanol leads to the formation of addition products with an α-hydroxyethyl substituent on C64 of thymine. These products account for about 25 per cent of total radio-products.
One of the products, 6-(α-hydroxyethyl)-6-hydro-5-hydroxythymine, can undergo photochemical conversion to the parent thymine with concomitant elimination of acetaldehyde, on irradiation at 254 nm in aqueous medium.
An additional radio-product, which probably arises as a result of secondary reactions, is 6-ethylthymine.
The mechanisms of formation of the foregoing are formulated, some of the properties of the various products presented, and the possible radiobiological significance of these processes discussed.