Mixture of 3, 4-benzopyrene and skin homogenate in aqueous solution was stirred for three days or more in a light-shielded glass flask and it was lyophilized. The sample gave ESR signal characteristic of a typical free radical with g=2.004, and greater parts of this free radical were diminished by degassing. Judging from the g-value, this free radical seems not to be peroxy radical, but rather seems to be a semiquinone radical. Possibility of photo-oxidation by room light during stirring and lyophilization was excluded by the fact that no difference was observed in the amount of free radical produced between the light-shielded samples and that of non-shielded samples. Dependence of the capacity for the free radical production in skin homogenates on the age of the mouse was tested using the skin homogenates of the newborn, 3-week-old, and 9-month-old mice. The skin homogenate of 9-month-old mice gave the most remarkable signal on stirring with 3, 4-benzopyrene. Among aromatic compounds tested, 3, 4-benzopyrene and 3-methylcholanthrene gave the free radical, whereas dibenz[
a, c]anthracene, pyrene, phenanthrene, and Acridine Orange did not.
Mixture of protein with 3, 4-benzopyrene gave a similar signal as in the case of skin homogenate. Among the proteins tested, albumin and globulin gave a large amount of free radical, whereas DNase, RNase, chymotrypsin, and insulin gave lesser amount of the free radical. No free radical production was observed by stirring DNA or RNA with hydrocarbons.
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