Reaction Kinetics of Phenolic Antioxidants toward Photoinduced Pyranine Free Radicals in Biological Models

A Systematic Study of the Antioxidant Capacity of Humic Substances against Peroxyl Radicals: Relation to Structure

Humic substances (HS) are natural supramolecular systems of high- and low-molecular-weight compounds with distinct immunomodulatory and protective properties. The key beneficial biological activity of HS is their antioxidant activity. However, systematic studies of the antioxidant activity of HS against biologically relevant peroxyl radicals are still scarce. The main objective of this work was to estimate the antioxidant capacity (AOC) of a broad set of HS widely differing in structure using an oxygen radical absorption capacity (ORAC) assay. For this purpose, 25 samples of soil, peat, coal, and aquatic HS and humic-like substances were characterized using elemental analysis and quantitative ¹³C solution-state NMR. The Folin–Ciocalteu method was used to quantify total phenol (TP) content in HS. The determined AOC values varied in the range of 0.31–2.56 μmol Trolox eqv. mg⁻¹, which is close to the values for ascorbic acid and vitamin E. Forward stepwise regression was used to reveal the four main factors contributing to the AOC value of HS: atomic C/N ratio, content of O-substituted methine and methoxyl groups, and TP. The results obtained clearly demonstrate the dependence of the AOC of HS on both phenolic and non-phenolic moieties in their structure, including carbohydrate fragments.

Direct Irradiation of Phenol and Para-Substituted Phenols with a Laser Pulse (266 nm) in Homogeneous and Micro-heterogeneous Media. A Time-Resolved Spectroscopy Study

Direct irradiation of para-substituted phenols under N₂ atmosphere in homogeneous (cyclohexane, acetonitrile, and methanol) and micellar (SDS) solution was investigated by means of time-resolved spectroscopy. After a laser pulse (266 nm), two transient species were formed, viz. the para-substituted phenol radical-cations and the corresponding phenoxy radicals. The radical-cations showed a broad absorption band located between 390 and 460 nm, while the phenoxy radicals showed two characteristic bands centered at 320 nm and 400-410 nm. The deprotonation rate constant of radical-cations (k_H) of 10⁵ s^-1 and the reaction rate constant of the phenoxy radicals (k_R) in the order of 10⁹-10¹⁰ M^-1·s^-1 have been derived. The k_H rate constants gave good linear Hammett correlation with positive slope indicating that electron-withdrawing substituents enhance the radical-cation acidity. The binding constants (K_b) of the para-substituted phenols with the surfactant were also measured, and NOESY experiments showed that phenols were located in the hydrophobic core of the micelle. Finally, computational calculations provided the predicted absorption spectra of the transients and nice linear correlations were obtained between the theoretical and experimental energy of the lower absorption band of these species.

Interaction between 1-pyrenesulfonic acid and albumin: Moving inside the protein

Due to the high sensitivity to alterations in microenvironment polarity of macromolecules, pyrene and its derivatives have long been applied in biosciences. Human serum albumin (HSA), besides its numerous physiological functions, is the main responsible by transport of endogenous and exogenous compounds in the circulatory system. Here, a comprehensive study was carry out to understand the interaction between HSA and the pyrene derivative 1-pyrenesulfonic acid (PMS), which showed a singular behaviour when bound to this protein. The complexation of PMS with HSA was studied by steady state, time-resolved and anisotropy fluorescence, induction of circular dichroism (ICD) and molecular docking. The fluorescence quenching of PMS by HSA was abnormal, being stronger at lower concentration of the quencher. Similar behaviour was obtained by measuring the ICD signal and fluorescence lifetime of PMS complexed in HSA. The displacement of PMS by site-specific drugs showed that this probe occupied both sites, but with higher affinity for site II. The movement of PMS between these main binding sites was responsible by the abnormal effect. Using the holo (PDB: ID 1A06) and apo (PDB: ID 1E7A) HSA structures, the experimental results were corroborated by molecular docking simulation. The abnormal spectroscopic behaviour of PMS is related to its binding in different regions in the protein. The movement of PMS into the protein can be traced by alteration in the spectroscopic signals. These findings bring a new point of view about the use of fluorescence quenching to characterize the interaction between albumin and ligands.