[Free radical mechanism of action of pyrimido-triazine antibiotics]

EPR spectra of anion radicals were recorded as a result of chemical or enzymatic reduction at various pH of the pyrimido-triazine antibiotics. These anion radicals easily form superoxide radicals in the presence of oxygen. It is supposed that a higher selectivity of reumycin action is due to difference in the redox potentials of the neutral and ionized antibiotic forms. A possibility of enhance the reumycin potency may involve the pH lowering inside the tumor cells - for example, by glucose injections.