Initiation and inhibition of free radical processes in H2O2-metmyoglobin (methemoglobin)-2,2'-azino-bis-(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) systems

Rates of free radical initiation were determined at 20 degrees C in 10 mM phosphate buffer (pH 7.4) in the systems metmyoglobin (methemoglobin)-H2O2 using 2,2'-azino-bis-(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) as the diammonium salt (ABTS). The catalytic activity of MetMb was 2-3-fold higher than that of MetHb. The process can be described by the Michaelis-Menten equation, from which effective values of Km and Vmax were calculated. Comparative kinetic studies on the inhibition of ABTS oxidation were carried out using Trolox, propylgallate (PG), polydisulfide of gallic acid (poly(DSG)), polydisulfide of (2-amino-4-nitrophenol) (poly(ADSNP)), and its conjugate with human serum albumin (HSA-poly(ADSNP)). The inhibitors were characterized by inhibition constants Ki and stoichiometric inhibition coefficients f (the number of radicals terminated by a single molecule of inhibitor). The minimum Ki and the maximum f values were obtained for poly(DSG), and in the system of MetHb-H2O2-ABTS they were 0.08 microM and 27.5, respectively. According to their antiradical activities, the inhibitors can be arranged as follows: poly(DSG) > poly(ADSNP) > PG > Trolox. PG, poly(DSG), poly (ADSNP), and its conjugate with HSA are suggested as "calibrators", i.e., inhibition standards for evaluation of antioxidant status of biological fluids in possible test systems based on the free radical-generating pair MetMb-H2O2 with ABTS as the acceptor of the active radicals.