title: Mechanisms of free radical oxidation of unsaturated lipids.
abstract: The primary products formed from the autoxidation of lipids can be understood based upon a mechanism that involves five different reaction types. These reactions are: reaction of a carbon radical and molecular oxygen, atom transfer of a hydrogen from substrate to the chain carrying peroxyl, fragmentation of the chain carrying peroxyl to give oxygen and a carbon radical, rearrangement of the peroxyl, and cyclization of the peroxyl. The mechanism of these primary reaction steps has been the focus of extensive research over the past fifty years, and the current level of understanding of these transformations is the subject of this review.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA.
authors.forename: N A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Porter
authors.forename: S E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Caldwell
authors.forename: K A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Mills
mesh_terms: D005609:Free Radicals; D015227:Lipid Peroxidation / Q000502:physiology*; D015394:Molecular Structure; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D010545:Peroxides; D011090:Polyenes / Q000737:chemistry; D013237:Stereoisomerism
chemical_list: D005609:Free Radicals; D010545:Peroxides; D011090:Polyenes; C049375:perhydroxyl radical