| Autor: |
Michael Hill, Neelam Khaper, Charita Seneviratne, Thomas P. Thomas, Arvinder Dhalla, Pawan K. Singal |
| Rok vydání: |
1996 |
| Předmět: |
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| Zdroj: |
Developments in Cardiovascular Medicine ISBN: 9781461285250 |
| DOI: |
10.1007/978-1-4613-1235-2_11 |
| Popis: |
Free radicals are unstable and highly reactive chemical species that differ from other ions, molecules, and molecular complexes by having an unpaired electron in their outermost orbital. This unpaired electron usually gives a considerable degree of chemical reactivity to the free radical. The latter can be produced in biological systems by various redox reactions occurring during normal metabolism. Molecular oxygen is a life-supporting agent that exists as a diradical wherein the two electrons in its outer orbital have parallel spins and are unpaired. Although a strong oxidant, this unique electronic configuration of oxygen also limits its reactivity to some extent, since inversion of electron spin is required for the oxidation of a two-electron donor. At the same time, this unusual configuration renders oxygen potentially toxic to all biological materials. Univalent reduction of oxygen in vivo gives rise to highly reactive intermediates that have an important role in both health and disease. Thus, oxygen radical reactions in biology are of particular interest. |
| Databáze: |
OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
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