Superoxide dismutase and Fenton chemistry. Reaction of ferric-EDTA complex and ferric-bipyridyl complex with hydrogen peroxide without the apparent formation of iron(II).

A ferric-EDTA complex, prepared directly from FeCl3 or from an oxidized ferrous salt, reacts with H2O2 to form hydroxyl radicals (.OH), which degrade deoxyribose and benzoate with the release of thiobarbituric acid-reactive material, hydroxylate benzoate to form fluorescent dihydroxy products and react with 5,5-dimethylpyrrolidine N-oxide (DMPO) to form a DMPO-OH adduct. Degradation of deoxyribose and benzoate and the hydroxylation of benzoate are substantially inhibited by superoxide dismutase and .OH-radical scavengers such as formate, thiourea and mannitol. Inhibition by the enzyme superoxide dismutase implies that the reduction of the ferric-EDTA complex for participation in the Fenton reaction is superoxide-(O2.-)-dependent, and not H2O2-dependent as frequently implied. When ferric-bipyridyl complex at a molar ratio of 1:4 is substituted for ferric-EDTA complex (molar ratio 1:1) and the same experiments are conducted, oxidant damage is low and deoxyribose and benzoate degradation were poorly if at all inhibited by superoxide dismutase and .OH-radical scavengers. Benzoate hydroxylation, although weak, was, however, more effectively inhibited by superoxide dismutase and .OH-radical scavengers, implicating some role for .OH. The iron-bipyridyl complex had available iron-binding capacity and therefore would not allow iron to remain bound to buffer or detector molecules. Most .OH radicals produced by the iron-bipyridyl complex and H2O2 are likely to damage the bipyridyl molecules first, with few reacting in free solution with the detector molecules. Deoxyribose and benzoate degradation appeared to be mediated by an oxidant species not typical of .OH, and species such as the ferryl ion-bipyridyl complex may have contributed to the damage observed.