Ozonolysis of uric acid at the air/water interface

Uric acid (UA) epoxide, peroxide, and ozonide species produced in aqueous UA microdroplets exposed to O(3)(g) are detected by online mass spectrometry within approximately 1 ms. UA conversions are independent of its initial concentration below approximately 0.1 mM and are unaffected by addition of excess H(2)O(2) or t-butanol. UA reactivity increases approximately 380 times from pH 4 to 7, which is at variance with the pH-independent rates reported for the UA + O(3)(aq) reaction in bulk water. At pH approximately 7, UA and ascorbic acid (AH(2)) microdroplets react with O(3)(g) at similar rates, although UA is approximately 40 times more reactive than AH(2) toward O(3)(aq) in bulk water. Only the UA epoxide, plus traces of UA peroxide, are formed upon mixing UA(aq) and O(3)(aq) solutions. We infer that the gas-liquid ozonolysis of UA proceeds in an interfacial aqueous medium quite distinct from bulk water. Thus, UA, a component of the pulmonary epithelial lining fluid that scavenges atmospheric O(3)(g) into less deleterious species (similar to AH(2)), is rendered inactive below pH approximately 5. The potential implications of these findings on synergistic health effects between tropospheric ozone and acidic particulates are briefly analyzed.