Peroxyl/radicals

Autooxidation. Liquid-phase oxidation of hydrocarbons, alcohols, and aldehydes by oxygen produces chemiluminescence in quantum yields of 10 to 10 ° ein/mol (128—130). Although the efficiency is low, the chemiluminescent reaction is important because it provides an easy tool for study of the kinetics and properties of autooxidation reactions including industrially important processes (128,131). The light is derived from combination of peroxyl radicals (132), which are primarily responsible for the propagation and termination of the autooxidation chain reaction. The chemiluminescent termination step for secondary peroxy radicals is as follows ... 

Because the chemiluminescence intensity can be used to monitor the concentration of peroxyl radicals, factors that influence the rate of autooxidation can easily be measured. Included are the rate and activation energy of initiation, rates of chain transfer in cooxidations, the activities of catalysts such as cobalt salts, and the activities of inhibitors (128). 

Tertiary peroxyl radicals also produce chemiluminescence although with lower efficiencies. For example, the intensity from cumene autooxidation, where the peroxyl radical is tertiary, is a factor of 10 less than that from ethylbenzene (132). The chemiluminescent mechanism for cumene may be the same as for secondary hydrocarbons because methylperoxy radical combination is involved in the termination step. The primary methylperoxyl radical terminates according to the chemiluminescent reaction just shown for (36), ie, R = H. 

The total antioxidant activity of teas and tea polyphenols in aqueous phase oxidation reactions has been deterrnined using an assay based on oxidation of 2,2 -azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-sulfonate) (ABTS) by peroxyl radicals (114—117). Black and green tea extracts (2500 ppm) were found to be 8—12 times more effective antioxidants than a 1-mAf solution of the water-soluble form of vitamin E, Trolox. The most potent antioxidants of the tea flavonoids were found to be epicatechin gallate and epigallocatechin gallate. A 1-mAf solution of these flavanols were found respectively to be 4.9 and 4.8 times more potent than a 1-mAf solution of Trolox in scavenging an ABT radical cation. 

The presence of oxygen can modify the course of a fiee-radical chain reaction if a radical intermediate is diverted by reaction with molecular oxygen. The oxygen molecule, with its two unpaired electrons, is extremely reactive toward most free-radical intermediates. The product which is formed is a reactive peroxyl radical, which can propagate a chain reaction leading to oxygen-containing products. 

Bateman, Gee, Barnard, and others at the British Rubber Producers Research Association [6,7] developed a free radical chain reaction mechanism to explain the autoxidation of rubber which was later extended to other polymers and hydrocarbon compounds of technological importance [8,9]. Scheme 1 gives the main steps of the free radical chain reaction process involved in polymer oxidation and highlights the important role of hydroperoxides in the autoinitiation reaction, reaction lb and Ic. For most polymers, reaction le is rate determining and hence at normal oxygen pressures, the concentration of peroxyl radical (ROO ) is maximum and termination is favoured by reactions of ROO reactions If and Ig. 

Irg 1076, AO-3 (CB), are used in combination with metal dithiolates, e.g., NiDEC, AO-30 (PD), due to the sensitized photoxidation of dithiolates by the oxidation products of phenols, particularly stilbenequinones (SQ, see reaction 9C) (Table 3). Hindered piperidines exhibit a complex behavior when present in combination with other antioxidants and stabilizers they have to be oxidized initially to the corresponding nitroxyl radical before becoming effective. Consequently, both CB-D and PD antioxidants, which remove alkyl peroxyl radicals and hydroperoxides, respectively, antagonise the UV stabilizing action of this class of compounds (e.g.. Table 3, NiDEC 4- Tin 770). However, since the hindered piperidines themselves are neither melt- nor heat-stabilizers for polymers, they have to be used with conventional antioxidants and stabilizers. 

Clearly kinetics alone will not distinguish the two schemes. To gain this distinction one can deliberately add a reagent that, judging from its independent chemistry, will react with one of the possible chain-carrying radicals. If the suspected radical is indeed an intermediate, and it reacts with the addend, the overall reaction will be slowed or halted. The added substance is a chain-breaker. In this case Fe2+ and Cu2+ (separately) were added. The first of these would very likely react with either of the peroxyl radicals, ROO or MOO. Indeed, Fe2+ dramatically inhibits the reaction. This evidence confirms the chain nature of the process, but does not distinguish between the mechanisms since both ROO and MOO would be scavenged by Fe2+. 

The recombination of fragments stemming from one macromolecule, at times shorter than the diffusion time, prevents the linear increase in RD with the absorbed dose per pulse, as not all main-chain scissions result in the formation of fragments. The effect of molecular oxygen on RD in the case of PBS can be interpreted by formation of peroxyl radicals, e.g. 

The sulfenic acids have been found to be extremely active radical scavengers showing rate constants of at least 107 m"1 s 1 for the reactions with peroxyl radicals at 333 K17. It has also been suggested that the main inhibiting action of dialkyl sulfoxides or related compounds in the autoxidation of hydrocarbon derives from their ability to form the transient sulfenic acids on thermal decomposition, i.e.17... 

Sulfonyl radicals are often represented simply as XS02 where the sulfur atom is understood to be bonded to two oxygens as well as to X the moiety X may be an alkyl, aryl, amino or alkoxy group. The unpaired electron does not reside on one particular atom but rather it extends over all atoms of the S02 group. It should be noted that in recent literature some authors refer to alkanethiyl peroxyl radicals, the adduct of alkanethiyl (RS ) to molecular oxygen, as RS02 rather than RSOO and the fact has already caused some inconvenience. 

A steady-state analysis of R13-R16 provides a means of understanding the role of peroxyl radicals such as HO2 in ozone formation ... 

Square brackets around a molecular species indicate atmospheric concentration. The rate constants k times the reactant concentration product refers to the rates of the chemical reactions of the indicated number. The photolytic flux term /l4 refers to the photodissociation rate of N02 in Reaction R14, its value is proportional to solar intensity.]. RO2 stands for an organic peroxyl radical (R is an organic group) that is capable of oxidizing NO to NO2. Hydrocarbons oxidize to form a very large number of different RO2 species the simplest of the family is methylperoxyl radical involved in R5, R6 and R8. 

HO-oxidation of an individual NMHCj produces H02 radicals with a yield aj, and oxidation of the NMHC oxidation product produces H02 in stoichiometric amount The lumped coefficients or yields a and p need not be integers, and represent the effectiveness of a particular NMHCj in producing RO2. and H02 radicals (lumped together as HO2) that will then oxidize NO. to N02 in processes such as R6 and R13, producing one net ozone molecule each. Alternatively, when the NO. concentration is low, peroxyl radicals may form PAN (as in R22) or hydrogen peroxide (as in R33) which are other oxidant species. In this formulation, transport is expressed by an overall dilution rate of the polluted air mass into unpolluted air with a rate constant (units = reciprocal time dilution lifetime=1// ). This rate constant includes scavenging processes such as precipitation removal as well as mixing with clean air. 

R8 is the simplest of a large suite of peroxyl radical combination reactions, generalized as R02 + H02 and R02 + R02 that generate poorly characterized radical and non-radical reaction products. Such reactions are of greatest significance in air with low nitric oxide concentration where the R02 species can reach elevated concentrations (95). The dependence of [H02 ] upon the tropospheric NO concentration is discussed below. 

R02./R02 Recombinations. Another area of uncertainty is the peroxyl radical recombination reactions described above, which become especially significant when the NO concentration is low. This can occur late in the photooxidation of polluted air undergoing transport, as in some rural environments (60,85) and in clean air. Although reactions of H02 with itself (R33) are reasonably well understood (their rate depends upon total pressure and upon water vapor concentration), reactions of H02 with R02 species and the R02 self reaction are much less well quantified. Since these serve as important radical sink processes under low NO. conditions, their accurate portrayal is important for accurate prediction of HO, concentrations. 

Several powerful oxidants are produced during the course of metabolism, in both blood cells and most other cells of the body. These include superoxide (02 ), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), peroxyl radicals (ROO ), and hydroxyl radicals (OH ). The last is a particularly reactive molecule and can react with proteins, nucleic acids, lipids, and other molecules to alter their structure and produce tissue damage. The reactions listed in Table 52-4 play an important role in forming these oxidants and in disposing of them each of these reactions will now be considered in turn. 

The formation and reaction of peroxyl radicals derived by reaction of tervalent phosphorus compounds with oxygen have attracted interest. Photolysis of trialkyl phosphites in oxygenated solutions of aromatic hydrocarbons gives phenols. " Phosphorus trichloride reacts with 1,2-dichloroethylene, in the presence of oxygen, to give (17). It is tempting to suggest that both reactions occur via similar intermediates, e.g. (15) and (16). 

As strong antioxidants and scavengers of superoxide, hydroxyl and peroxyl radicals, tea flavonoids can suppress radical chain reactions and terminate lipid peroxidation (Kumamoto and Sonda, 1998, Yang and Wang, 1993). 

Therefore depending upon the conditions used to simulate either in vitro or in vivo oxidation, catechins or other phenolic compounds display differences in their antioxidant properties. Catechins also limited the consumption of a-tocopherol, allowing it to act as a scavenger within cell membranes whilst the catechins scavenged aqueous peroxyl radicals near the membrane surface (Pietta and Simonetti, 1998). 

KERRY N and ABBEY M (1998) The isoflavone genistein inhibits copper and peroxyl radical mediated low density lipoprotein oxidation in vitro. Atherosclerosis. 140 (2) 341-7. 

WOODALL A A, BRITTON G and JACKSON M J (1997) Carotenoids and protection of phospholipids in solution or in liposomes against oxidation by peroxyl radicals relationship between carotenoid structure and protective ability , Biochim Biophys Acta, 1336, 575-86. 

Under aqueous conditions, flavonoids and their glycosides will also reduce oxidants other than peroxyl radicals and may have a role in protecting membranal systems against pro-oxidants such as metal ions and activated oxygen species in the aqueous phase. Rate constants for reduction of superoxide anion show flavonoids to be more efficient than the water-soluble vitamin E analogue trolox (Jovanovic et al, 1994), see Table 16.1. 

Fig. 16.5 Synergistic regeneration of a-tocopherol by quercetin at a lipid-water interphase. a-tocopherol is reacting with a lipid peroxyl radical in a chain-breaking reaction. According to the standard reduction potential, the phenoxyl radical of quercetin can further be regenerated by ascorbate.

MbFe(IV)=0 and with lipid peroxyl radicals (Castellucio et al, 1995). It may accordingly be concluded that the most relevant single parameter for predicting the antioxidative activity of a new plant phenol would be the standard reduction potential, E . 

PEDRIELLI p, HOLKERi L M and SKIBSTED L H (2001b) Antioxidant activity of (+)-catechin. Rate constant for hydrogen atom transfer to peroxyl radicals, Eur Food Res Technol, 213, 405-8. 

The antioxidant property of ferulic acid and related compounds from rice bran was reported by Kikuzaki et al, (2002). Their results indicated that these compounds elicit their antioxidant function through radical scavenging activity and their affinity with lipid substrates. Another recent study reported by Butterfield et al, (2002) demonstrated that ferulic acid offers antioxidant protection against hydroxyl and peroxyl radical oxidation in synaptosomal and neuronal cell culture systems in vitro. The effect of ferulic acid on blood pressure (BP) was investigated in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). After oral administration of ferulic acid the systolic blood pressure (SBP) decreased in a dose-dependent manner. There was a significant correlation between plasma ferulic acid and changes in the SBP of the tail artery, suggesting... 

BUTTERFIELD D A, MARINA A, JAROSLAW K, ANTONIO s (2002) FeruUc add antioxidant protection against hydroxyl and peroxyl radical oxidation in synaptosomal and neuronal cell culture systems in vitro Structure activity studies. JNutri Biochem, 13(5) 273-81. 

---