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Updated: Jul 20, 2026

Free Radicals in Chemical Biology: from Chemical Behavior to Biomarker Development
Published on: April 15, 2013
Reactivity of aromatic sigma, sigma-biradicals toward riboses
Anthony Adeuya1, Linan Yang, F Sedinam Amegayibor
1Department of Chemistry, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907-1393, USA.
Abstract:
The gas-phase reactions of sugars with aromatic, carbon-centered sigma,sigma-biradicals with varying polarities [as reflected by their calculated electron affinities (EA)] and extent of spin-spin coupling [as reflected by their calculated singlet-triplet (S-T) gaps] have been studied. The biradicals are positively charged, which allows them to be manipulated and their reactions to be studied in a Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer. Hydrogen atom abstraction from sugars was found to be the dominant reaction for the biradicals with large EA values, while the biradicals with large S-T gaps tend to form addition/elimination products instead. Hence, not all sigma, sigma-biradicals may be able to damage DNA by hydrogen atom abstraction. The overall reaction efficiencies of the biradicals towards a given substrate were found to be directly related to the magnitude of their EA values, and inversely related to their S-T gaps. The EA of a biradical appears to be a very important rate-controlling factor, and it may even counterbalance the reduced radical reactivity characteristic of singlet biradicals that have large S-T gaps.
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