title: Hydroxyl radical formation from the auto-reduction of a ferric citrate complex.
abstract: When a ferric citrate complex is prepared from citric acid and ferric chloride, and the pH value left unchanged, a reduction of the iron moiety takes place. Within several hours a substantial yield of ferrous ions can be detected in the solution. When placed in a phosphate buffer pH 7.0 with a suitable detector molecule, oxidative damage to the detector molecule can be observed. Thus, deoxyribose is degraded with the release of thiobarbituric acid-reactive material and benzoate is hydroxylated to form fluorescent dihydroxy products. Damage can be prevented by scavengers of the hydroxyl radical such as mannitol, formate the thiourea, by catalase and by the protein caeruloplasmin, suggesting that Fenton chemistry occurs leading to the formation of hydroxyl radicals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, Royal Brompton Hospital, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Gutteridge
mesh_terms: D001565:Benzoates; D002712:Chlorides; D002951:Citrates; D019343:Citric Acid; D003855:Deoxyribose / Q000737:chemistry; D005290:Ferric Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D005609:Free Radicals; D006878:Hydroxides; D017665:Hydroxyl Radical; D006900:Hydroxylation; D007202:Indicators and Reagents; D007700:Kinetics; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D013858:Thiobarbiturates
chemical_list: D001565:Benzoates; D002712:Chlorides; D002951:Citrates; D005290:Ferric Compounds; D005609:Free Radicals; D006878:Hydroxides; D007202:Indicators and Reagents; D013858:Thiobarbiturates; D019343:Citric Acid; D017665:Hydroxyl Radical; D003855:Deoxyribose; C025314:ferric citrate; C029684:thiobarbituric acid; C024555:ferric chloride