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Reducing radiation damage is important and dietary antioxidants that can protect cells from such damage are of value. Dietary lycopene, a carotenoid found in tomatoes, protects human lymphoid cell membranes from damage by γ-radiation. We report that such protective effects are remarkably reduced as the oxygen concentration increases - near zero at 100% oxygen from fivefold protection at 20% oxygen and, dramatically, from 50-fold protection at 0% oxygen. Such huge differences imply that under higher oxygen concentrations lycopene could lead to improved cancer therapy using γ-radiation. The cells are not efficiently protected from the superoxide radical by lycopene. Noncellular studies suggest molecular mechanisms for the oxygen effect.

Molecular mechanisms associated with the anti-/pro-oxidative properties of carotenoids (CARs) are described in organic solvents, micro-heterogeneous environments and model lipid membranes and in cellular suspensions. Singlet oxygen is important in the skin and eye and CARs are efficient singlet oxygen (SO) quenchers with corresponding rate constants near diffusion controlled (typically app. 10¹⁰ M⁻¹ s⁻¹) with lycopene (LYC) exhibiting the most efficient quenching in organic solvents. However, in membrane environments there is little or no difference in the quenching efficiency between the dietary CARs. Furthermore, aggregation of CARs, particularly those in the macula (lutein and zeaxanthin), markedly reduces SO quenching efficiency. Free radical interactions with CARs leads to at least three processes, electron and hydrogen atom transfer and adduct formation. The most studied is electron transfer where the CAR loses an electron to become a radical cation. The reactivity/lifetime of such CAR radicals may lead to a switch from anti- to pro-oxidant behaviour of CARs. These reactions are related to CAR redox potentials with LYC being the lowest (most easily oxidised) allowing LYC to reduce/repair all other CAR radical cations and LYC 'sacrificed' where mixtures of CARs are present in oxidative environments. Such redox-controlled reactions may lead to deleterious as well as beneficial health effects.

International audience; Reaction of [PdMe2(tmeda)] with pyridyl-N-di(tert-butyl)phosphinoimine spontaneously affords an unusual bimetallic palladium(I) ligand-based biradical complex, which behaves as a "masked" form of Pd0 in its reactions with neutral ligands and chlorobenzene.

The photophysical properties of the fluoroquinolone antibiotic sarafloxacin (SFX) were investigated in aqueous media. SFX in water, at pH 7.4, shows intense absorption with peaks at 272, 322 and 335 nm, (epsilon=36800 and 17000 dm3 mol(-1) cm(-1), respectively). Both the absorption and emission properties of SFX are pH-dependent; pKa values for the protonation equilibria of both the ground (5.8 and 9.1) and excited singlet states (5.7 and 9.0) of SFX were determined spectroscopically. SFX fluoresces weakly, the quantum yield for fluorescence emission being maximum (0.07) at pH 8. Laser flash photolysis and pulse radiolysis studies have been carried out in order to characterize the transient species of SFX in aqueous solution. Triplet-triplet absorption has a maximum at 610 nm with a molar absorption coefficient of 17,000+/-1000 dm3 mol(-1) cm(-1). The quantum yield of triplet formation has been determined to be 0.35+/-0.05. In the presence of oxygen, the triplet reacts to form excited singlet oxygen with quantum yield of 0.10. The initial triplet (3A*) was found to react with phosphate buffer to form triplet 3B* with lower energy and longer lifetime and having an absorption band centered at 700 nm. SFX triplet was also found to oxidize tryptophan to its radical with concomitant formation of the anion radical of SFX. Hence the photosensitivity of SFX could be initiated by the oxygen radicals and/or by SFX radicals acting as haptens.

The photophysical properties of the fluoroquinolone antibiotic moxifloxacin (MOX) were investigated in aqueous media. MOX in water, at pH 7.4, shows two intense absorption bands at 287 and 338 nm (epsilon = 44,000 and 17,000 dm(3) mol(-1) cm(-1), respectively). The absorption and emission properties of MOX are pH-dependent, pK(a) values for the protonation equilibria of both the ground (6.1 and 9.6) and excited singlet states (6.8 and 9.1) of MOX were determined spectroscopically. MOX fluoresces weakly, the quantum yield for fluorescence emission being maximum (0.07) at pH 8. Phosphorescence from the excited triplet state in frozen ethanol solution has a quantum yield of 0.046. Laser flash photolysis and pulse radiolysis studies have been carried out to characterize the transient species of MOX in aqueous solution. On laser excitation, MOX undergoes monophotonic photoionization with a quantum yield of 0.14. This leads to the formation of a long-lived cation radical whose absorption is maximum at 470 nm (epsilon(470) = 3400 dm(3) mol(-1) cm(-1)). The photoionization process releases hydrated electron which rapidly reacts (k = 2.8 x 10(10) dm(3) mol(-1) s(-1)) with ground state MOX, yielding a long-lived anion radical with maximum absorption at 390 nm (epsilon(390) = 2400 dm(3) mol(-1) cm(-1)). The cation radical of MOX is able to oxidize protein components tryptophan and tyrosine. The bimolecular rate constants for these reactions are 2.3 x 10(8) dm(3) mol(-1) s(-1) and 1.3 x 10(8) dm(3) mol(-1) s(-1), respectively. Singlet oxygen sensitized by the MOX triplet state was also detected only in oxygen-saturated D(2)O solutions, with a quantum yield of 0.075.

The synthesis of zinc(II) and copper(II) complexes of an unsymmetrical bis(thiosemicarbazonato) ligand containing a reactive styrene group are reported. The compounds have been characterised by a range of techniques including reverse-phase HPLC, cyclic voltammetry, NMR, UV/Vis, electron paramagnetic resonance and fluorescence emission spectroscopy. Time-dependent density functional theory calculations have been used to assign the electronic absorption spectrum of [ZnIIATSM] and probe the nature of the fluorescent excited state. Electrochemistry experiments show that the copper(II) complex undergoes quasi-reversible one-electron reduction at biologically accessible potentials and is within the range proposed for the complex to be hypoxia-selective. The copper-64 radiolabelled complex has been prepared in aqueous solution and characterised by reverse-phase radio-HPLC. Cellular uptake in HeLa cells has been observed using confocal fluorescence microscopy.(© Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2008)

We have synthesised nine monomeric azaheterofullerene (AZA) derivatives, RC(59)N, with a wide variety of different side chains R and investigated their spectroscopic and photophysical properties in toluene and o-dichlorobenzene (ODCB). Measurements include their ground-state absorption spectra, molar absorption coefficient (epsilon(G)), fluorescence spectra, fluorescence quantum yields (Phi(F)), singlet-state lifetimes (tau(F)), triplet-state absorption spectra, triplet molar absorption coefficients (epsilon(T)), singlet oxygen (Phi(Delta)), and triplet state (Phi(T)) quantum yields. The replacement of a carbon by a nitrogen atom in the C(60) sphere strongly affects most of the spectroscopic and photophysical properties. The chemical nature of the R moiety has definite effects on these properties in contrast with minor effects on the chemical nature of the addends in [6,6]-ring bridged monoadduct methano[60]fullerene derivatives. These effects concern properties of the ground state, singlet excited state, and triplet states of our nine RC(59)N derivatives and in particular the values of photophysical parameters epsilon(G), epsilon(T), Phi(Delta), and Phi(T), which are significantly lower than those of analogous monoadduct [6,6]-ring bridged methano[60]fullerene derivatives.

The influence of side-chain structure on the mode of reaction of ortho-quinone amines has been investigated with a view, ultimately, to developing potential methods of therapeutic intervention by manipulating the early stages of melanogenesis. Four N-substituted dopamine derivatives have been prepared and quinone formation studied using pulse radiolysis and tyrosinase-oximetry. Ortho-quinones with an amide or urea side chain were relatively stable, although evidence for slow formation of isomeric para-quinomethanes was observed. A thiourea derivative cyclized fairly rapidly (k = 1.7/s) to a product containing a seven-membered ring, whereas a related amidine gave more rapidly (k approximately 2.5 x 10(2)/s) a stable spirocyclic product. The results suggest that cyclization of amides, ureas and carbamates (NHCO-X; X = R, NHR or OR) does not occur and is not, therefore, a viable approach to the formation of tyrosinase-activated antimelanoma prodrugs. It is also concluded that for N-acetyldopamine spontaneous ortho-quinone to para-quinomethane isomerization is slow.

There is a resurgence of interest in the role of electron transfer reactions involving beta-carotene in photosynthesis. There is also current debate on the health benefits of dietary carotenoids and the possible deleterious effects on certain sub-populations such as smokers. The impact of dietary carotenoids on health may well be also related to radical reactions. A key parameter in biological systems is therefore the one-electron reduction potential of the carotenoid radical cation, now reported for the first time in a model biological aqueous environment. The value obtained is 1.06+/-0. 01 V and is sufficiently high to oxidise cell membrane proteins, but is low enough to repair P(680).+ in the photosynthetic reaction centre.