ABSTRACT
The hydroxyl radical is generally recognized as being one of the most potent oxidizing species known which can react with virtually all molecules of biological interest, mainly at diffusion-controlled rates. 1 Its extreme reactivity naturally poses problems with regard to its detection. Direct determination of the ·OH radical is complex and generally not applicable to routine analysis in biological systems. As with many short-lived radicals and intermediates, most assays for these species are based on reaction of the radical with a detector molecule to form a (relatively) stable product which can then be more readily quantified. The choice of detector molecule must be made with care in order to achieve a high specificity for the ·OH radical. In addition, the detection method should be highly sensitive so as to allow low concentrations of the radical to be detected. The method described here fulfills both these criteria; it appears to be highly specific for the ·OH (or similar) radicals, and since the product ethylene is determined by gas chromatography, the sensitivity of the assay is great.
