We investigated free radical reactions in lung of living mice using an in vivo electron spin resonance (ESR) spectrometer and nitroxyl radical as a probe. When an aqueous solution of nitroxyl probe was trans-tracheally administered into lung of living mice, a sharp triplet signal was observed at the chest of the mice. The signal showed a gradual decrease with time, obeying first-order kinetics. Signal decay rates of carbamoyl-PROXYL and carboxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-piperidine-N-oxyl were faster than those of CAT-1 and carboxy-PROXYL. The mechanism of signal decay may be attributed to (i) reaction with reactive oxygen species such as ·OH, (ii) transfer into blood circulation, or (iii) reduction by compounds continuously supplied. However, little is known about the clearance mechanism of the nitroxyl probe in lung. To evaluate the disappearance of the ESR signal of the nitroxyl probe in lung, in vivo ESR spectra in chest of mice was recorded after trans-tracheal administration of an aqueous high concentrate solution of nitroxyl probe. A broad signal from the chest was observed immediately after administration due to Heisenberg spin exchange interaction. A sharp triplet signal was superimposed on the broad signal and the appearance of a triplet signal was followed by disappearance of the broad one. Peak-to-peak line width of the sharp signal was almost the same as that after intravenous administration. A distinct signal was detected in blood collected 10 min after trans-tracheal administration of nitroxyl probe. The observations indicate the transfer from lung to blood circulation and its contribution to clearance of probe in lung. Appearance of a sharp signal in blood after trans-tracheal administration was dependent on the kind of nitroxyl probe, showing a different transfer rate from lung to blood.

HOMO(the highest occupied molecular orbital) and LUMO(the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital) of four recalcitrant polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were calculated by MOPAC program(CaChe Co). The previous papers which reported experimental results about radical reaction of PAHs were reviewed. The reported radical reaction positions of four PAHs corresponded with predicted positions in which δE(HOMO-LUMO) was high. From these results, it appears that determining the δE(HOMO-LUMO) of a PAH is a promising method for predicting the radical reaction position.

Each four polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was reacted with OH radical at 1.5 Å distance by CAChe MOPAC 2000 program. These results were compared to those reported experimental results. Reaction positions of all four PAHs corresponded with predicted positions in which ⊿E(HOMO-LUMO) was approximately 4.7. Finally oxygen of OH radical combined with PAH and quinone form of products were produced. These results indicate that the proposed determining the ⊿E(HOMO-LUMO) can be effectively applied to predict reaction position of recalcitrant compounds such as dioxins, PCBs, POPs, and etc.