Hydroxyl radical generation caused by the reaction of singlet oxygen with a spin trap, DMPO, increases significantly in the presence of biological reductants.

Photosensitizers newly developed for photodynamic therapy of cancer need to be assessed using accurate methods of measuring reactive oxygen species (ROS). Little is known about the characteristics of the reaction of singlet oxygen (1O2) with spin traps, although this knowledge is necessary in electron spin resonance (ESR)/spin trapping. In the present study, we examined the effect of various reductants usually present in biological samples on the reaction of 1O2 with 5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline-N-oxide (DMPO). The ESR signal of the hydroxyl radical (*OH) adduct of DMPO (DMPO-OH) resulting from 1O2-dependent generation of *OH strengthened remarkably in the presence of reduced glutathione (GSH), 6-hydroxy-2,5,7,8-tetramethylchroman-2-carboxylic acid (Trolox), ascorbic acid, NADPH, etc. A similar increase was observed in the photosensitization of uroporphyrin (UP), rose bengal (RB) or methylene blue (MB). Use of 5-(diethoxyphosphoryl)-5-methyl-1-pyrroline-N-oxide (DEPMPO) as a spin trap significantly lessened the production of its *OH adduct (DEPMPO-OH) in the presence of the reductants. The addition of DMPO to the DEPMPO-spin trapping system remarkably increased the signal intensity of DEPMPO-OH. DMPO-mediated generation of *OH was also confirmed utilizing the hydroxylation of salicylic acid (SA). These results suggest that biological reductants enhance the ESR signal of DMPO-OH produced by DMPO-mediated generation of *OH from 1O2, and that spin trap-mediated *OH generation hardly occurs with DEPMPO.