A Pulse-radiolysis Study of the Reaction of Hydrated Electrons with N′-formylkynurenine and Related Compounds: Electron-transfer Reactions with Nucleic Acid Components

The reactivity of N'-formylkynurenine (FK) derivatives towards eaq has been investigated. The reduced transient species have been characterized (lambda max approximately 340, 440 nm, epsilon lambda max approximately 3000-1000 M-1 cm-1, pKa approximately 7.8). Owing to the strong FK electron affinity, electron-transfer reactions occur from purine (except guanine) and pyrimidine electron adducts to FK (k approximately 2-7 x 10(9) M-1 s-1). As some FK derivatives bind to DNA (or polynucleotides) the protective effect of complexation on FK-DNA (or polynucleotides) adduct formation has been investigated.