We report here a kinetic study of the generation of hypothiocyanite (OSCN-), a product of lactoperoxidase-catalyzed oxidation of thiocyanate ion. Previous studies have measured OSCN- by reactions involving the oxidation of sulfhydryl compounds. Our results show that a more suitable kinetic analysis of OSCN- can be based on absorbance changes measured at 235 nm. About 90% of the oxidation products of SCN- observed at 235 nm were reactive with sulfhydryls and could be reduced with 2-mercaptoethanol. Both thiocyanate and peroxide were rate-limiting and the formation of OSCN- was proportional to the initial concentration of H2O2 until an equimolar concentration of H2O2 and SCN- was reached. This equimolar concentration gave the maximum generation of OSCN-. High concentrations (greater than 100 micrograms/ml) of lactoperoxidase decreased OSCN- generation, but only if the SCN- was added to the enzyme prior to addition of H2O2. With lactoperoxidase concentrations exceeding 1 microgram/ml, the reaction velocity was rapid, but the decay of OSCN- was slow. Free H2O2 in the reaction mixture always resulted in rapid decay of OSCN-. Addition of varying concentrations of peroxide to solutions containing 1 microgram/ml of enzyme and [SCN-] = 5 mM gave a family of hyperbolic A235 vs. time curves. Both the initial slopes and the plateaus of these curves increased linearly with increasing initial peroxide concentrations up to [H2O2] = 0.4 mM, remained relatively constant in the range [H2O2] = 0.4 to 0.8 mM, and decreased rapidly above [H2O2] = 0.8 mM. These results are consistent with the following kinetic model: Hydrogen peroxide reacts rapidly with lactoperoxidase to produce compound I. This compound I oxidizes SCN- to OSCN- and also oxidizes OSCN- to O2SCN-. The OSCN- also reacts with SCN-. The formation of OSCN- is associated with the appearance of an absorbance peak at 225-235 nm. The oxidation of OSCN- by excess peroxide or its decomposition at high concentrations is associated with a decrease in A235 and the appearance of a peak at 245-255 nm. The extinction coefficient for OSCN- was determined to be 1.29 x 10(3) M-1 . cm-1. The second-order rate constant for the oxidation of thiocyanate by compound I was estimated to be 2 x 10(5) M-1 . s-1.