Pro Oxidant

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Pro-oxidants are chemicals that induce oxidative stress, either through creating reactive oxygen species or inhibiting antioxidant systems. The oxidative stress produced by these chemicals can damage cells and tissues, for example an overdose of the analgesic paracetamol (acetaminophen) can cause fatal damage to the liver, partly through its production of reactive oxygen species. Some substances can act as either antioxidants, or pro-oxidants, depending on the specific set of conditions. Some of the conditions that are important include the concentration of the chemical and if oxygen or transition metals are present. While thermodynamically very favored, reduction of molecular oxygen or peroxide to superoxide or hydroxyl radical is fortunately spin forbidden. This greatly reduces the rates of these reactions, thus allowing aerobic life to exist. As a result, the reduction of oxygen typically involves either the initial formation of singlet oxygen, or spin-orbit coupling through a reduction of a transition-series metal such as manganese, iron, or copper. This reduced metal then transfers the single electron to molecular oxygen or peroxide.