Abstract

Free Radicals in Biology, Volume IV reviews diverse topics in free radical biology and covers topics ranging from radiation biology to lipid peroxidation, radical-mediated liver pathology, and chemical carcinogenesis. Radical mechanisms in prostaglandin biochemistry are also discussed, along with the use of electron spin resonance and spin trap methods to probe mechanisms of radical reactions in biological systems.
Comprised of 10 chapters, this volume begins with an overview of the mechanisms of lipid peroxidation, focusing on the chemistry of fluorescent products from in vivo lipid peroxidation; the production of pentane in the expired breath of animals exposed to oxidative threats; and the chemistry of the enzyme glutathione peroxidase. The next chapter is devoted to the kinetic aspects of lipid peroxidation and the multiple ways in which autoxidants can react. The reader is then introduced to the mechanisms of hepatoxicity by synthetic chemicals present in the environment, together with direct mechanisms of radiation damage to nucleic acids. Subsequent chapters deal with spin trapping in biological systems; the role of free radicals in arylamine carcinogenesis and their influence on the structure and reactivity of melanins; and the involvement of vitamin ? and lipid antioxidants in free-radical-initiated reactions.
This book will be of value to chemists, biologists, and physicians.