Free-radical-induced oxidative and reductive degradation of sulfa drugs in water: absolute kinetics and efficiencies of hydroxyl radical and hydrated electron reactions

Absolute rate constants and degradation efficiencies for hydroxyl radical and hydrated electron reactions with four different sulfa drugs in water have been evaluated using a combination of electron pulse radiolysis/absorption spectroscopy and steady-state radiolysis/high-performance liquid chromatography measurements. For sulfamethazine, sulfamethizole, sulfamethoxazole, and sulfamerazine, absolute rate constants for hydroxyl radical oxidation were determined as (8.3 +/- 0.8) x 10(9), (7.9 +/- 0.4) x 10(9), (8.5 +/- 0.3) x 10(9), and (7.8 +/- 0.3) x 10(9) M(-1) s(-1), respectively, with corresponding degradation efficiencies of 36% +/- 6%, 46% +/- 8%, 53% +/- 8%, and 35% +/- 5%. The reduction of these four compounds by their reaction with the hydrated electron occurred with rate constants of (2.4 +/- 0.1) x 10(10), (2.0 +/- 0.1) x 10(10), (1.0 +/- 0.03) x 10(10), and (2.0 +/- 0.1) x 10(10) M(-1) s(-1), respectively, with efficiencies of 0.5% +/- 4%, 61% +/- 9%, 71% +/- 10%, and 19% +/- 5%. We propose that hydroxyl radical adds predominantly to the sulfanilic acid ring of the different sulfa drugs based on similar hydroxyl radical rate constants and transient absorption spectra. In contrast, the variation in the rate constants for hydrated electrons with the sulfa drugs suggests the reaction occurs at different reaction sites, likely the different heterocyclic rings. The results of this study provide fundamental mechanistic parameters, hydroxyl radical and hydrated electron rate constants, and degradation efficiencies that are critical for the evaluation and implementation of advanced oxidation processes (AOPs).     

Free radical chemistry of disinfection-byproducts. 1. Kinetics of hydrated electron and hydroxyl radical reactions with halonitromethanes in water

Halonitromethanes are disinfection-byproducts formed during ozonation and chlorine/chloramine treatment of waters that contain bromide ion and natural organic matter. In this study, the chemical kinetics of the free-radical-induced degradations of a series of halonitromethanes were determined. Absolute rate constants for hydroxyl radical, *OH, and hydrated electron, e(aq)-, reaction with both chlorinated and brominated halonitromethanes were measured using the techniques of electron pulse radiolysis and transient absorption spectroscopy. The bimolecular rate constants obtained, k (M(-1) s(-1)), for e(aq)-/*OH, respectively, were the following: chloronitromethane (3.01 +/- 0.40) x 10(10)/(1.94 +/- 0.32) x 10(8); dichloronitromethane (3.21 +/- 0.17) x 10(10)/(5.12 +/- 0.77) x 10(8); bromonitromethane (3.13 +/- 0.06) x 10(10)/(8.36 +/- 0.57) x 10(7); dibromonitromethane (3.07 +/- 0.40) x 10(10)/(4.75 +/- 0.98) x 10(8); tribromonitromethane (2.29 +/- 0.39) x 10(10)/(3.25 +/- 0.67) x 10(8); bromochloronitromethane (2.93 +/- 0.47) x 10(10)/(4.2 +/- 1.1) x 10(8); bromodichloronitromethane (2.68 +/- 0.13) x 10(10)/(1.02 +/- 0.15) x 10(8); and dibromochloronitromethane (2.95 +/- 0.43) x 10(10) / (1.80 +/- 0.31) x 10(8) at room temperature and pH approximately 7. Comparison data were also obtained for hydroxyl radical reaction with bromoform (1.50 +/- 0.05) x 10(8), bromodichloromethane (7.11 +/- 0.26) x 10(7), and chlorodibromomethane (8.31 +/- 0.25) x 10(7) M(-1) s(-1), respectively. These rate constants are compared to recently obtained data for trichloronitromethane and bromonitromethane, as well as to other established literature data for analogous compounds.     

Kinetics and mechanisms of the reactions of hydroxyl radicals and hydrated electrons with nitrosamines and nitramines in water

Absolute rate constants for hydroxyl radical, *OH, and hydrated electron, e(aq)(-), reactions with low-molecular-weight nitrosamines and nitramines in water at room temperature were measured using the techniques of electron pulse radiolysis and transient absorption spectroscopy. The bimolecular rate constants obtained, k (M(-1) s(-1)), for e(aq)(-) and *OH reactions, respectively, were as follows: methylethylnitrosamine, (1.67 +/- 0.06) x 10(10) and (4.95 +/- 0.21) x 10(8); diethylnitrosamine, (1.61 +/- 0.06) x 10(10) and (6.99 +/- 0.28) x 10(8); dimethylnitramine, (1.91 +/- 0.07) x 10(10) and (5.44 +/- 0.20) x 10(8); methylethylnitramine, (1.83 +/- 0.15) x 10(10) and (7.60 +/- 0.43) x 10(8); and diethylnitramine, (1.76 +/- 0.07) x 10(10) and (8.67 +/- 0.48) x 10(8), respectively. MNP/DMPO spin-trapping experiments demonstrated that hydroxyl radical reaction with these compounds occurs by hydrogen atom abstraction from an alkyl group, while the reaction of the hydrated electron was to form a transient radical anion. The latter adduct formation implies that the excess electron could subsequently be transferred to regenerate the parent chemical, which would significantly reduce the effectiveness of any free-radical-based remediation effort on nitrosamine/nitramine-contaminated waters.     

The kinetics of hydroxyl radical reactions with cyclopropane and cyclobutane

A laser flash photolysis/resonance fluorescence investigation has been carried out to study the kinetics of the overall reactions OH + cyclopropane (1) and OH + cyclobutane (2) in the temperature range 298–490 K and at 298 K, respectively. The following kinetic parameters have been determined: k₁ =(3.9 ±0.6) 10⁻¹²exp- (2.2 ± 0.1)kcal mol⁻¹/RT molecule⁻¹cm³s⁻¹, k₂(298 K) = (17.5 ± 1.5)10⁻¹³molecule⁻¹ cm³s⁻¹.     

A pulse radiolysis study of the reactions of the hydrated electron and hydroxyl radical with the oxalate ion in neutral aqueous solution

The rate constants of the reactions of e _aq ^? and the OH^· radical with the oxalate ion in a neutral aqueous solution were measured by means of the pulse radiolysis technique. They were found to be (3.5 ± 0.5) × 10⁷ and (1.5 ± 0.2) × 10⁷ l mol^?1 s^?1, respectively. The radical anion ^?OOC-C^·OO^2? is characterized by an optical absorption band that has a maximum at 270 nm and a molar absorption coefficient of (2400 ± 200) l mol^?1 cm^?1. The radical anion ^·OOC-COO^?, the product of the reaction with the OH^· radical, exhibits absorption that has no maximum and increases in intensity with a decrease in the wavelength extending to the UV region (?₂₂₀ = 1800 l mol^?1 cm^?1). The mechanism of radiation-chemical transformations in aqueous oxalate solutions is discussed.     

Mechanism and kinetics of hydrated electron diffusion

Molecular dynamics simulations are used to study the mechanism and kinetics of hydrated electron diffusion. The electron center of mass is found to exhibit Brownian-type behavior with a diffusion coefficient considerably greater than that of the solvent. As previously postulated by both experimental and theoretical works, the instantaneous response of the electron to the librational motions of surrounding water molecules constitutes the principal mode of motion. The diffusive mechanism can be understood within the traditional framework of transfer diffusion processes, where the diffusive step is akin to the exchange of an extramolecular electron between neighboring water molecules. This is a second-order process with a computed rate constant of 5.0 ps(-1) at 298 K. In agreement with experiment the electron diffusion exhibits Arrhenius behavior over the temperature range of 298-400 K. We compute an activation energy of 8.9 kJ mol(-1). Through analysis of Arrhenius plots and the application of a simple random walk model it is demonstrated that the computed rate constant for exchange of an excess electron is indeed the phenomenological rate constant associated with the diffusive process.     

Hemibonding between hydroxyl radical and water

The ultraviolet absorption peak commonly used to identify OH radical in liquid water is mainly due to a charge-transfer-from-solvent transition that is prominent when OH is hemibonded, rather than more stable hydrogen bonded, to H(2)O. This work computationally characterizes the hemibonding interaction and the extent of the geometrical region over which it is significant. Hemibonding is found to be associated with an enlarged energy separation between the two lowest-lying electronic states, which are otherwise always quite close to one another. The lower state, wherein the hemibonding occurs, retains an attractive interaction energy between OH and H(2)O that can be as much as one-half as strong as the optimum hydrogen-bonding interaction, while the enlarged separation between the states is mainly due to the upper state becoming repulsive over most of the hemibonding region. Hemibonding also leads to a considerable drop in the energy and a considerable increase in the oscillator strength of the characteristic charge-transfer transition. The region of significant hemibonding is found to lie within a moderate range of O-O azimuthal angles and over quite wide ranges of O-O separation distances and hydroxyl OH tilt angles. In particular, significant hemibonding interactions can extend down to surprisingly short O-O distances, where the oscillator strength for the charge-transfer-from-solvent transition becomes very large.     

Inactivation efficiencies of radical reactions with biologically active DNA

Dilute aqueous solutions of biologically active θX174 DNA may serve as a simplified model system of the cell. Damage to the DNA after irradiation with γ-rays, may be ascribed to reactions with ^.OH, ^.H and e^-_aq or secondary radicals, arising from reactions of water radicals with added scavengers. Conversion of primary (water) radicals into secondary (scavenger) radicals leads to a considerable protection of the DNA, which, however, would have been larger if these secondary radicals did not contribute to DNA inactivation. The inactivation yield due to isopropanol or formate (secondary) radicals depends on dose rate as well as DNA concentration. Furthermore the inactivation efficiencies of the reactions of both the primary and the secondary radicals with single-stranded DNA could be established.     

Reactions of hydrated electron with various radicals: spin factor in diffusion-controlled reactions

The reactions of hydrated electron (eaq-) with various radicals have been studied in pulse radiolysis experiments. These radicals are hydroxyl radical (*OH), sulfite radical anion (*SO3-), carbonate radical anion (CO3*-), carbon dioxide radical anion (*CO2-), azidyl radical (*N3), dibromine radical anion (Br2*-), diiodine radical anion (I2*-), 2-hydroxy-2-propyl radical (*C(CH3)2OH), 2-hydroxy-2-methyl-1-propyl radical ((*CH2)(CH3)2COH), hydroxycyclohexadienyl radical (*C6H6OH), phenoxyl radical (C6H5O*), p-methylphenoxyl radical (p-(H3C)C6H4O*), p-benzosemiquinone radical anion (p-OC6H4O*-), and phenylthiyl radical (C6H5S*). The kinetics of eaq- was followed in the presence of the counter radicals in transient optical absorption measurements. The rate constants of the eaq- reactions with radicals have been determined over a temperature range of 5-75 degrees C from the kinetic analysis of systems of multiple second-order reactions. The observed high rate constants for all the eaq- + radical reactions have been analyzed with the Smoluchowski equation. This analysis suggests that many of the eaq- + radical reactions are diffusion-controlled with a spin factor of 1/4, while other reactions with *OH, *N3, Br2*-, I2*-, and C6H5S* have spin factors significantly larger than 1/4. Spin dynamics for the eaq-/radical pairs is discussed to explain the different spin factors. The reactions with *OH, *N3, Br2*-, and I2*- have also been found to have apparent activation energies less than that for diffusion control, and it is suggested that the spin factors for these reactions decrease with increasing temperature. Such a decrease in spin factor may reflect a changing competition between spin relaxation/conversion and diffusive escape from the radical pairs.     

Classical molecular-dynamics simulation of the hydroxyl radical in water

We have studied the hydration and diffusion of the hydroxyl radical OH0 in water using classical molecular dynamics. We report the atomic radial distribution functions, hydrogen-bond distributions, angular distribution functions, and lifetimes of the hydration structures. The most frequent hydration structure in the OH0 has one water molecule bound to the OH0 oxygen (57% of the time), and one water molecule bound to the OH0 hydrogen (88% of the time). In the hydrogen bonds between the OH0 and the water that surrounds it the OH0 acts mainly as proton donor. These hydrogen bonds take place in a low percentage, indicating little adaptability of the molecule to the structure of the solvent. All hydration structures of the OH0 have shorter lifetimes than those corresponding to the hydration structures of the water molecule. The value of the diffusion coefficient of the OH0 obtained from the simulation was 7.1x10(-9) m2 s(-1), which is higher than those of the water and the OH-.     

Radical-induced destruction of diethyl phthalate in aqueous solution: kinetics, spectral properties, and degradation efficiencies studies

In this work, the reactions of ^?OH, e _aq ^? , and SO ₄ ^?? with diethyl phthalate (DEP) were investigated in aqueous solution by pulse radiolysis, and degradation efficiencies of DEP with ^?OH and e _aq ^? were evaluated in water using steady-state radiolysis as well. The absolute rate constants of ^?OH, e _aq ^? , and SO ₄ ^?? with DEP were determined as 2.3 × 10⁹, 1.0 × 10¹⁰, and 1.0 × 10⁸ M^?1 s^?1, respectively. The degradation efficiencies for the ^?OH and e _aq ^? reactions were 81 and 33 %, respectively. Transient absorption spectra were observed for the intermediate radicals produced by ^?OH, e _aq ^? , and SO ₄ ^?? reactions. The results suggested that e _aq ^? transferred to the ester group, resulting in the formation of DEP radical anions. In contrast, ^?OH and SO ₄ ^?? added predominantly to the aromatic ring of DEP, forming the corresponding ^?OH adducts. The fundamental mechanistic parameters and degradation efficiencies derived from these results were significant for evaluations and applications of advanced oxidation processes.     

Low temperature kinetics of unstable radical reactions

Recent advances in Earth and satellite based observations of molecules in interstellar environments and in planetary atmospheres have highlighted the lack of information regarding many important gas-phase formation mechanisms involving neutral species at low temperatures. Whilst significant progress has been made towards a better understanding of radical-molecule reactions in these regions, the inherent difficulties involved in the investigation of reactions between two unstable radical species have hindered progress in this area. This perspective article provides a brief review of the most common techniques applied to study radical-radical reactions below room temperature, before outlining the developments in our laboratory that have allowed us to extend such measurements to temperatures relevant to astrochemical environments. These developments will be discussed with particular emphasis on our recent investigations of the reactions of atomic nitrogen with diatomic radicals.     

Kinetics of the reactions of hydroxyl radical with aliphatic aldehydes

Rate coefficients for OH reactions with the 2–5 carbon aliphatic aldehydes have been measured under pseudo first-order conditions in OH. OH was generated by flash photolysis of H₂O at wavelengths greater than 165 nm and its concentration monitored using time-resolved resonance fluorescence spectroscopy. Two reactions were studied only at 298 K while five reactions were studied over the temperature range 250–425 K; negative activation energies were observed for all five reactions. Aldehyde reactivity toward OH is nearly independent of the identity of the hydrocarbon side chain. Our results are compared with those obtained in previous studies of OH-aldehyde reaction kinetics and their mechanistic implications are discussed.     

Statistical mechanics of hydrated electron recombination in liquid and supercritical water

The photochemical yield of hydrated electrons as a function of temperature in liquid and supercritical water is treated in terms of energy fluctuations of the medium. The geminate pair, consisting of a positive ion and a hydrated electron, is regarded as a H-like atom embedded in a completely relaxed dielectric continuum. If the local medium energy is larger than the ionization energy of this atom, the electron escapes its geminate partner. By making use of the classical theory of energy fluctuations, escape probability is described by a simple explicit function, the variable of which is a combination of temperature, relative permittivity, and specific heat. First our earlier calculations on the recombination of solvated electrons, produced by ionizing radiation in a number of polar liquids, are improved and then the theory is compared with the experimental results on temperature dependent electron survival by Kratz et al. [S. Kratz, J. Torres-Alcan, J. Urbanek, J. Lindner, and P. Vo?hringer, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 12, 12169 (2010)]. Two adjustable parameters are needed to achieve reasonable quantitative agreement.     

Kinetics of hydrated electron reactions with phosphate anions: a laser photolysis study

The decay kinetics of hydrated electron (e_aq ⁻) formed upon photolysis of aqueous solutions of sodium pyrene-1,3,6,8-tetrasulfonate at λ = 337 nm in the presence of phosphate anions (up to 2 mol L⁻¹) was studied by nanosecond laser-pulse photolysis in a wide range of pH (3.5–10) and ionic strength (I, up to 2 mol L⁻¹) values. At high pH values, where the HPO₄ ²⁻ ions dominate, the e_aq ⁻ decay kinetics depends only slightly on phosphate concentration (rate constant for the reaction is at most 2·10⁵ L mol⁻¹ s⁻¹). The H₂PO₄ ⁻ ions react with e_aq ⁻ at a rate constant of 2.8·10⁶ L mol⁻¹ s⁻¹ (I = 0), which increases linearly with the parameter in accordance with the Debye-Hückel theory. The rate constant for quenching of e_aq ⁻ by H₃PO₄ at pH ≤ 4 decreases linearly with the parameter due to the secondary salt effect and equals 1.6·10⁹ L mol⁻¹ s⁻¹ at I = 0. The logarithm of the rate constant for quenching of e_aq ⁻ by phosphates is linearly related to the number of the O-H bonds in the phosphate molecule. Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 7, pp. 1277–1280, July, 2007.     

Kinetics and mechanism of hydroxyl radical and OH-adduct radical reactions with nitroxides and with their hydroxylamines

Stable nitroxide radicals are potent antioxidants and are among the most effective non-thiol radioprotectants, although they react with hydroxyl radicals more slowly than typical phenolic antioxidants or thiols. Surprisingly, the reduced forms of cyclic nitroxides, cyclic hydroxylamines, are better reductants yet have no radioprotective activity. To clarify the reason for this difference, we studied the kinetics and mechanisms of the reactions of nitroxides and their hydroxylamines with (*)OH radicals and with OH-adducts by using pulse radiolysis, fluorimetric determination of phenolic radiation products, and electron paramagnetic resonance spectrometric determination of nitroxide concentrations following radiolysis. Competition kinetics with phenylalanine as a reference compound in pulse radiolysis experiments yielded rate constants of (4.5 +/- 0.4) x 10(9) M(-1) s(-1) for the reaction of (*)OH radical with 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-N-oxyl (TPO), 4-hydroxy-TPO (4-OH-TPO), and 4-oxo-TPO (4-O-TPO), (3.0 +/- 0.3) x 10(9) M(-1) s(-1) for deuterated 4-O-TPO, and (1.0 +/- 0.1) x 10(9) M(-1) s(-1) for the hydroxylamine 4-OH-TPO-H. The kinetic isotope effect suggests the occurrence of both (*)OH addition to the aminoxyl moiety of 4-O-TPO and H-atom abstraction from the 2- or 6-methyl groups or from the 3- and 5-methylene positions. This conclusion was further supported by final product analysis, which demonstrated that (*)OH partially oxidizes 4-O-TPO to the corresponding oxoammonium cation. The rate constants for the reactions of the nitroxides with the OH-adducts of phenylalanine and terephthalate have been determined to be near 4 x 10(6) M(-1) s(-1), whereas the hydroxylamine reacted at least 50 times slower, if at all. These findings indicate that the reactivity toward (*)OH does not explain the differences between the radioprotective activities of nitroxides and hydroxylamines. Instead, the radioprotective activity of nitroxides, but not of hydroxylamines, can be partially attributed to their ability to detoxify OH-derived secondary radicals.     

Radical intermediates generated in the reactions of l-arginine with hydroxyl radical and sulfate radical anion: A pulse radiolysis study

Reactions of l-arginine (Arg) with hydroxyl radical (OH) and sulfate radical anion (SO₄⁻) were kinetically investigated by the pulse radiolysis technique. Hydrogen abstraction from Arg by OH afforded redox chemically oxidizing, neutral, and reducing carbon-centered Arg radicals. Kinetic properties of the radicals indicated that the reducing species might include the δ-C-centered Arg radical and CO₂ radical anion. Similar transient spectra were observed in the SO₄⁻ reaction with Arg, suggesting direct oxidation at the guanidino group is less likely.     

Mechanistic pathways of the hydroxyl radical reactions of quinoline. 2. Computational analysis of hydroxyl radical attack at C atoms

Density functional theory (DFT) calculations are employed to compare the mechanism of the *OH attacks at all carbon atoms in quinoline. The computational analysis of the energy surface for the reaction of *OH with quinoline reveals that the formation of OH adducts proceeds through exothermic formation of pi-complexes/H-bonded complexes. The gas-phase reactions have activation energies ranging from <1.3 kcal/mol for the attack at positions C3 through C8 to 8.6 kcal/mol for the attack at the C2 position. Solvation, as described by the CPCM cavity model, lowers these activation barriers so that the attack at all carbon atoms except C2 is effectively barrierless. The *OH attack at C2 in solution is significantly different than at all other quinoline positions because it involves the only transition structure with energy higher than that of the starting materials and with an energetic barrier of 5.1 kcal/mol. The specific solvation approach also corroborates this finding because the attack at C2 was shown to have an energy barrier of 2.3 kcal/mol compared to the barrierless attack at C5. These results are in agreement with our recent experimental studies but differ from literature reports on the degradation of quinoline using the photo-Fenton reaction.     

Elucidating the radical kinetics involved in the radiolytic destruction of lanthanide-complexed DTPA

The reprocessing of nuclear fuels to extract the remaining actinides is one of the most important strategies for viable nuclear power in the future, as geologic waste disposal of high-level radioactive waste could have considerable negative impacts on the environment. As many of these strategies are based on solvent extraction processes, our aim is to establish the radiolytic stability of the component extraction ligands. The oxidative stability of the lanthanide metal-complexed extraction ligand DTPA (diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid) has been investigated through its reaction rate constant with the hydroxyl radical under TALSPEAK acidic pH conditions, both for the free ligand and complexed with Eu³⁺, Lu³⁺ and Gd³⁺. Specific rate constants were obtained over a range of pH conditions using thiocyanate competition kinetics. The rate constants for the complexed metals are seen to be greater than the corresponding values determined for only the DTPA protonated ligands at these pHs.     

Gas-phase kinetics of hydroxyl radical reactions with C3H6 and C4H8: product branching ratios and OH addition site-specificity

Products of the reaction of OH radicals with propene, trans-2-butene, and 1-butene have been investigated in a fast flow reactor, coupled with time-of-flight mass spectrometry, at pressures between 0.8 and 3.0 Torr. The product determination includes H atom abstraction channels as well as site-specific OH addition. The OH radicals are produced by the H + NO(2) → OH + NO reaction or by the F + H(2)O → OH + HF reaction, the H or F atoms being produced in a microwave discharge. The gas mixture is ionized using single photon ionization (SPI at 10.54 eV), and products are detected using time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOF-MS). The H atom abstraction channels are measured to be <2% for OH + propene, 8 ± 3% for OH + 1-butene, and 3 ± 1% for OH + trans-2-butene. Analysis of ion fragmentation patterns leads to 72 ± 16% OH addition to the propene terminal C atom and 71 ± 16% OH addition to the 1-butene terminal C atom. The errors bars represent 95% confidence intervals and include estimated uncertainties in photoionization cross sections.