As discussed in the Introduction, previous studies to assess whether defect-induced local differences in DNA redox chemistry can be exploited by BER enzymes for locating DNA lesions and initiating their repair process have so far been performed on free, unpacked DNA. Amongst these studies, evidence indicates that a CT process could indeed be viable for the detection of oxidative DNA lesions. 20,26 However, in cellular conditions, most of the genome is tightly packed within the NCP structure. This degree of compactness induces substantially different structural properties compared to free DNA. In combination with possible effects due to the interaction of DNA residues with amino acids from the histone octamer, the efficiency of a redox-based CT mechanism in chromatin might differ from the redox-based CT mechanism in free DNA. To our knowledge, the present investigation is the first computational study under solvated, biological conditions with long thermal sampling in order to determine whether CT is a viable mechanism within an NCP structure.