Long-range intermolecular interaction between broken DNA fragments

We analyzed the long-range intermolecular interaction between fragments of broken DNA. We considered two constituents of long-range intermolecular interaction. The first is a net electrostatic Coulomb interaction between charges, involved in a structure of opposite nucleotides, which we evaluate using Debye-Huckel theory. The second one is the Van der Waals interaction between the nucleotides. The general Lifshitz theory of Van der Waals forces was used to evaluate this interaction. Numerical calculations showed that a repulsive force between broken DNA fragments can arise in specific cases. This repulsion can prevent DNA from repairing itself after a double-strand break. The height of the barrier decreases with an increase of the ionic strength of the intracellular milieu, or with a reduction of its viscosity.