Specificity of oxygen radical scavengers and assessment of free radical scavenger efficiency using luminol enhanced chemiluminescence

Abstract The selective scavenging capacities of 19 important oxygen radical scavengers were determined by adding them individually to each of the four oxy radical standards, (superoxide, hydroxy, alkoxy and hydroperoxy, and singlet O 2 ), calculating the percent chemiluminescence inhibited, and extrapolating O 2 equivalents neutralized from baseline. The sensitivity (0.01nm/ml) and selectivity of this method not only allows identification of individual oxygen free radical species but also quantitates the efficiency of free radical scavengers.