ABSTRACT
6-Hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA; 2,4,5-trihydroxyphenylethylamine) is (experimentally) a widely used neurotoxin. When it is injected into test animals, 6-OHDA is accumulated by catecholamine-containing nerve terminals and causes their degeneration. 6-OHDA is extremely unstable, and in aqueous medium, it rapidly reacts with dissolved oxygen. The final products of this autoxidation reaction are a quinone, which has an absorbancy maximum at 490 nm, and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2).
