Reaction of Hydroxyurea with Iron(III): Products and the Stoichiometry of the Redox Reaction

Products and reaction stoichiometry of the interaction between iron(III) and hydroxyurea (HU) in aqueous solutions were studied. Under condition of an excess of iron(III) over hydroxyurea, initially formed mono(hydroxyureato)iron(III) complex decomposed through redox processes, forming two moles of Fe^II, one mole of NH₄⁺, one mole of CO₂, and 0.5 mole of N₂O per 1 mole of initially present HU. Hydroxyurea radical, H₂N‐CO‐NHO^?, was detected in the course of the reaction. The possible mechanism of the formation of the products is discussed and compared with that obtained for horseradish peroxidase mediated oxidation of hydroxyurea with hydrogen peroxide. The possibility of direct reaction of hydroxyurea with the iron center of protein R2 of the ribonucleotide reductase is proposed. The reaction examined may serve as a simple model for testing the suggested hydroxyurea like activity for chemical substances.