Synergy between low and high energy radical femtochemistry

International audienceThe deleterious effects of ionizing radiation on integrated biological targets being dependent on the spatio-temporal distribution of short-lived radical processes, a thorough knowledge of these early events requires a real-time probing in the range 10(-15) - 10(-10) s. This manuscript review is focused on the synergy that exists between low (1-10 eV) and high (MeV) energy radiation femtochemistry (LERF, HERE respectively). The synergy remains crucial for the investigation of primary radical processes that take place within the prethermal regime of low energy secondary electrons. The quantum character of very-short lived electron in a prehydrated configuration provides a unique sub-nanometric probe to spatially explore some early radiation-induced biomolecular damage. This approach would foreshadow the development of innovative applications for spatio-temporal radiation biology such as, (i)) a highly-selective pro-drug activation using well-defined quantum states of short-lived radicals, (ii)) the real-time nanodosimetry in biologically relevant environments, and (iii)) the ultrashort irradiation of living cell