Bruce C. Gilbert

Model Studies of the Iron-Catalysed Haber-Weiss Cycle and the Ascorbate-Driven Fenton Reaction

Complementary hydroxylation assays and stopped-flow e.s.r. techniques have been employed in the investigation of the effect of various iron chelators (of chemical, biological and clinical importance) on hydroxyl-radical generation via the Haber-Weiss cycle and the ascorbate-driven Fenton reaction. Chelators have been identified which selectively promote or inhibit various reactions involved in hydroxyl-radical generation (for example, NTA and EDTA promote all the reactions of both the Haber-Weiss cycle and the ascorbate-driven Fenton reaction, whereas DTPA and phytate inhibit the recycling of iron in these reactions). The biological chelators succinate and citrate are shown to be relatively poor catalysts of the Haber-Weiss cycle, whereas they are found to be effective catalysts of .OH generation in the ascorbate-driven Fenton reaction. It is also suggested that continuous redox-cycling reactions between iron, oxygen and ascorbate may represent an important mechanism of cell death in biological systems.

The oxidation of some polysaccharides by the hydroxyl radical: An e.s.r. investigation

E.s.r. Experiments employing a flow system in conjunction with the TiIII-H2O2 couple show that dextrans react with the hydroxyl radical (HO.) via indiscriminate attack (except that abstraction of hydrogen atoms from carbons which are both linked by glycosidic bonds and included in the pyranose ring may be inhibited, possibly for steric reasons). Acid- and base-catalysed transformations of first-formed radicals have been demonstrated; the suggestion that such reactions can lead to glycosidic cleavage is supported by viscosity studies which confirm the pH-dependence of radical-initiated degradation. For galacturonan and related compounds, e.s.r. results indicate that reaction with HO. proceeds preferentially via abstraction of the hydrogen on the carbon adjacent to the carboxyl group. The crucial step in the subsequent degradation pathway probably involves a pH-independent rearrangement.E.s.r. Experiments employing a flow system in conjunction with the TiIII-H2O2 couple show that dextrans react with the hydroxyl radical (HO.) via indiscriminate attack (except that abstraction of hydrogen atoms from carbons which are both linked by glycosidic bonds and included in the pyranose ring may be inhibited, possibly for steric reasons). Acid- and base-catalysed transformations of first-formed radicals have been demonstrated; the suggestion that such reactions can lead to glycosidic cleavage is supported by viscosity studies which confirm the pH-dependence of radical-initiated degradation. For galacturonan and related compounds, e.s.r. results indicate that reaction with HO. proceeds preferentially via abstraction of the hydrogen on the carbon adjacent to the carboxyl group. The crucial step in the subsequent degradation pathway probably involves a pH-independent rearrangement.

EPR Evidence for the Involvement of Free Radicals in the Iron-Catalysed Decomposition of Qinghaosu (Artemisinin) and Some Derivatives; Antimalarial Action of Some Polycyclic Endoperoxides

EPR experiments confirm that reaction of qinghaosu and some related endoperoxides with Fe2+ in aqueous acetonitrile leads to the production of carbon-centred radicals derived by rapid rearrangement of first-formed cyclic alkoxyl radicals. Signals obtained from qinghaosu itself with spin-traps DMPO and DBNBS are assigned to the adducts (15) and (16), a finding which accounts for the formation of the major products (11) and (14).

A Kinetic and ESR Investigation of Iron(II) Oxalate Oxidation by Hydrogen Peroxide and Dioxygen as a Source of Hydroxyl Radicals

The reaction of Fe(II) oxalate with hydrogen peroxide and dioxygen was studied for oxalate concentrations up to 20 mM and pH 2-5, under which conditions mono- and bis-oxalate complexes (Fe[II](ox) and Fe[II](ox)2[2-]) and uncomplexed Fe2+ must be considered. The reaction of Fe(II) oxalate with hydrogen peroxide (Fe2+ + H2O2 --> Fe3+ + .OH + OH-) was monitored in continuous flow by ESR with t-butanol as a radical trap. The reaction is much faster than for uncomplexed Fe2+ and a rate constant, k = 1 x 10(4) M(-1) s(-1) is deduced for Fe(II)(ox). The reaction of Fe(II) oxalate with dioxygen is strongly pH dependent in a manner which indicates that the reactive species is Fe(II)(ox)2(2-), for which an apparent second order rate constant, k = 3.6 M(-1) s(-1), is deduced. Taken together, these results provide a mechanism for hydroxyl radical production in aqueous systems containing Fe(II) complexed by oxalate. Further ESR studies with DMPO as spin trap reveal that reaction of Fe(II) oxalate with hydrogen peroxide can also lead to formation of the carboxylate radical anion (CO2-), an assignment confirmed by photolysis of Fe(II) oxalate in the presence of DMPO.

Radical-Induced Damage to Bovine Serum Albumin: Role of the Cysteine Residue

The reactions of cerium(IV) and the hydroxyl radical [generated from iron(ii)/H2O2] with bovine serum albumin (BSA) have been investigated by EPR spin trapping. With the former reagent a protein-derived thiyl radical is selectively generated; this has been characterized via the anisotropic EPR spectra observed on reaction of this radical with the spin trap DMPO. Blocking of the thiol group results in the loss of this species and the detection of a peroxyl radical, believed to be formed by reaction of oxygen with initially-generated, but undetected, carbon-centred radicals from aromatic amino acids. Experiments with a second spin trap (DBNBS) confirm the formation of these carbon-centred species and suggest that damage can be transferred from the thiol group to carbon sites in the protein. A similar transfer pathway can be observed when hydroxyl radicals react with BSA. Further experiments demonstrate that the reverse process can also occur: when hydroxyl radicals react with BSA, the thiol group appears to act as a radical sink and protects the protein from denaturation and fragmentation through the transfer of damage from a carbon site to the thiol group. Thiol-blocked BSA is shown to be more susceptible to damage than the native protein in both direct EPR experiments and enzyme digestion studies. Oxygen has a similar effect, with more rapid fragmentation detected in its presence than its absence.

Radical-Induced Damage to Proteins: E.S.R. Spin-Trapping Studies

The reactions of hydroxyl radicals generated from FeII/H2O2 and CuII/H2O2 redox couples with a variety of proteins (BSA, histones, cytochrome c, lysozyme and protamine) have been investigated by e.s.r. spin trapping. The signals obtained, which are generally anisotropic in nature, characterize the formation of partially-immobilized spin-adducts resulting from attack of the HO. radicals on the protein and subsequent reaction of the protein-derived radicals with the spin trap. Similar spin adducts are observed on incubation of two haem-proteins (haemoglobin and myoglobin) with H2O2 in the absence of added metal ions implying a reaction at the haem centre followed by internal electron transfer reactions. Two strategies have been employed to obtain information about the site(s) of radical damage in these proteins. The first involves the use of a variety of spin traps and in particular DMPO: with this particular trap the broad spectra from largely immobilized radicals show characteristic a(beta-H) values which enable carbon-, oxygen- and sulphur-centred radicals to be distinguished. The second involves the use of enzymatic cleavage of first-formed adducts to release smaller nitroxides, with isotropic spectra, which allow the recognition of beta-proton splittings and hence information about the sites of radical damage to be obtained. These results, which allows backbone and side-chain attack to be distinguished, are in agreement with random attack of the HO. radical on the protein and are in accord with studies carried out on model peptides. In contrast the use of less reactive attacking radicals [N3., .CH(CH3)OH] and oxidising agents (Ce4+) provides evidence for selective attack on these proteins at particular residues.

An E.S.R. Investigation of the Reactive Intermediate Generated in the Reaction Between FeII and H2O2 in Aqueous Solution. Direct Evidence for the Formation of the Hydroxyl Radical

The technique of E.S.R. spectroscopy, when employed in conjunction with a continuous flow system, provides direct evidence for the nature of free radicals formed from organic substrates in the presence of FeII and H2O2 in aqueous solution. It is shown, both via the identification of hydroxyl-radical adducts to alkenes and via the observed site-selectivity of radical attack, that the hydroxyl radical is formed as the reactive intermediate in the presence of various chelators (e.g. EDTA, DTPA). This approach also allows the rate constants for the FeII-H2O2 reaction in the presence of the different chelates to be determined; values obtained are in reasonable agreement with most of those measured by other methods. Examples of radical oxidation (by FeIII) and reduction (by FeII) are revealed.

Electron spin resonance studies. Part XLVI. Oxidation of thiols and disulphides in aqueous solution: formation of RS˙, RSO˙, RSO2˙, RSSR–, and carbon radicals

Radicals which mediate in the oxidation of thiols with the TiIII–H2O2 couple and CeIV and of disulphides with the former reagent, in aqueous solution at room temperature, have been studied by e.s.r. spectroscopy. The e.s.r. evidence establishes that signals with g ca. 2·01 and 2·005 are those of sulphinyl (RSO˙) and sulphonyl (RSO2˙) radicals, respectively. Radicals of both these types are detected in almost all instances; thiyl radicals (RS˙) cannot be detected directly but their involvement is demonstrated by spin-trapping methods; and two dithiols yield spectra with g ca. 2·013 which are attributed to cyclic disulphide radical-anions. Reaction mechanisms consistent with the e.s.r. data and earlier product studies are suggested.

Electron spin resonance studies. Part XXXVIII. Evidence for the formation of dimeric radical-cations, R2S˙S2+˙, in the one-electron oxidation of sulphides

Evidence is adduced by e.s.r. spectroscopy for the mediation of radical-cations R2S˙S2+˙ during oxidation of a sulphide R2S by the titanium(III)–hydrogen peroxide or –persulphate couple. It is suggested that they arise from a first-formed transient, R2S+˙, which is subject to competing reactions of which one is with a further molecule of sulphide. Other reactions, and the variation of their relative importance with structure, are briefly discussed.

Generation and reactions of the chlorine atom in aqueous solution

The chlorine atom (Cl˙) has been generated in aqueous solution by reaction of Cl– with SO˙–4 and H2PO˙4, obtained by metal-catalysed decomposition of the appropriate peroxides. E.s.r. experiments in conjunction with a fast-flow method establish that Cl˙ is highly reactive, readily undergoing rapid addition, hydrogen-abstraction and electron-transfer reactions (k≈ 108–109 dm3 mol–1 s–1). The factors which influence the observed selectivity (energetics and polar effects) are discussed.