PHOTOOXYGENATION OF METHYL LINOLEATE SENSITIZED BY PORPHYRINS AND DYES IN ACETONITRILE SOLUTION AND AQUEOUS EMULSION SYSTEMS

Air-Water Interface Effects on the Regioselectivity of Singlet Oxygenations of a Trisubstituted Alkene

The regioselective synthesis of allylic hydroperoxide sulfonates by singlet oxygenation at the air-water interface has been found to depend on the concentration of the alkene sulfonate and added calcium salt. The regioselectivity is proposed to originate from an orthogonal alkene relative to the water surface for preferential methyl hydrogen abstraction by airborne singlet oxygen in an ene reaction. The findings hint that the air-water interface is a locale for synthetic reactions.

Reaction and quenching of singlet molecular oxygen with esters of polyunsaturated fatty acids

The rate constants for the reactive (kR) and unreactive (kQ) interaction of singlet molecular oxygen with three esters of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA: cis-methyl oleate, MO; cis-methyl linoleate, MLA and cis-ethyl linolenate, ELN) are determined. The values of the ratio kQ/kR are 0.51, 0.26 and 0.20 for MO, MLA and ELN, respectively. This variation results principally from that of kR because the values of kQ are only slightly different (1.24 x 10(4) M-1 s-1 for MO and approximately 1.0 x 10(4) M-1 s-1 for MLA and ELN). It is shown that the rate constant kQ characterizes mainly an interaction with the unreactive part of the molecule rather than with the double bonds (solventlike quenching). Contrary to the already reported case of 1,5-polyenes for which kQ << kR, the present results and those obtained from a number of literature data show that for PUFA and their esters, neither kR+kQ nor kR are proportional to the total number of double bonds or of methylene groups adjacent to the double bonds. Instead, a linear correlation is observed by plotting kR vs the number of methylene groups adjacent to two double bonds. It is deduced that contrary to a common assumption, biallylic hydrogens have a reactivity higher than that of singly allylic hydrogens (reactivity ratio 1.19). The consequence of this result on the estimation of relative contributions of singlet oxygen and radical mechanisms to oxidation processes is discussed. Moreover, the whole of these results allows prediction of the values of kR and kQ for all unsaturated fatty acids (and their esters) of similar structure.

Interest of photochemical methods for induction of lipid peroxidation

Lipid peroxidation, which plays a part in a wide variety of biological processes, is an integral process in the oxidation of unsaturated fatty acids via a radical chain reaction. Among the various species which may induce this reaction in vivo, reactive forms of oxygen such as peroxide anion, the hydroxyl radical and singlet oxygen are of cardinal importance. These species may be generated enzymatically, chemically or by various radiochemical and photochemical reactions. We present here the advantages of photochemical induction of peroxidation, and we describe the principles of the reactions, the photosensitizers that can be employed to generate the various reactive species of oxygen, and the techniques, direct (ESR) or indirect (specific traps), used to detect the reactive species. Photosensitization can induce the formation of a whole gamut of products of lipid peroxidation: conjugated dienes, aldehydes, hydroperoxides, etc. The relative proportions of the various hydroperoxides of fatty acids or cholesterol depend on the nature of the reactive species involved. Utilization of photochemical reactions is an effective and clean way of inducing peroxidation, allowing fine control of both initiation and orientation.