DETECTION OF HYDROPEROXIDES IN SOLUTIONS OF PHOTOOXIDIZED PSORALEN

Abstract

Photooxidized psoralen solutions possess a variety of biological effects, which implementation mechanism may presumably involve hydroperoxides. Here, the hydroperoxide content in photooxidized psoralen solutions was assessed using photometric FOX assay (from Ferrous Oxidation + Xylenol Orange). FOX reagent with 10× content of Xylenol Orange, modified for quantitative analysis of up to 50 μM of hydroperoxides in aqueous phase was used in experiments. During photooxidation of 0.1 mM psoralen in phosphate buffer solution, hydroperoxide production increases with dose of UVA irradiation (~2.5 μM eq. of H2O2 for dose of 252 kJ/m2 and ~11 μM eq. of H2O2 for dose of 1512 kJ/m2) and reaches ~16.5 μM eq. of H2O2 at the highest dose investigated (3024 kJ/m2). A comparison of kinetics of psoralen photolysis and hydroperoxide generation allows us to suggest that generation of hydroperoxide results from the secondary photochemical processes involving psoralen photoproducts, presumably from photoinduced autooxidation of aldehydic photoproducts of psoralen.

Keywords

• psoralen
• photooxidation
• hydroperoxides
• hydrogen peroxide
• xylenol orange
• spectrophotometr