E.S.R. of Spin-trapped Radicals in Aqueous Solutions of Deuterated Amino Acids and Alcohols

Selectively deuterated compounds can be utilized in spin-trapping to obtain conclusive evidence for the structures of the trapped radicals. Radicals formed from DL-alanine-2-d1, DL-alanine-3, 3, 3-d3, DL-alanine-d4, glycine-d5, isopropyl-2-d1 alcohol, isopropyl-d7 alcohol and t-butyl-d9 alcohol were studied. The hydrogen abstraction, deamination and decarboxylation radicals generated from deuterated alanines were investigated by spin-trapping using t-nitrosobutane. Since nitroxides of the type XYZC-CH2-N(O)-tBu which contain an asymmetric centre next to the CH2 group exhibit unequal beta-proton splittings and temperature-dependent line width alternations, the effects of temperature on the e.s.r. spectra were studied. By these methods the structures of the trapped radicals were verified and the hyperfine coupling constants could be assigned without ambiguity. In gamma-irradiated polycrystalline amino acids, the observed deuterium exchange can be conveniently surveyed by dissolution in aqueous solutions containing t-nitrosobutane.