Free radicals in biology and medicine (EPR investigations)

Author: Eduard Chikvaidze
Keywords: free radicals, oxidative stress, ESR
Annotation:

Cell death, tissue injury caused by oxidative stress and inflammation processes are included in many diseases, like cancer, neurological diseases (Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and etc), diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, aging and etc. The role of free radicals involved in metabolic processes are very important, but the free radicals generated during oxidative stress mainly are very dangerous for life. Their increased number caused by different metabolic processes are very dangerous, but human body owns multiple possibilities to fight against unwanted free radicals. They are: Ascorbic acid (vitamin-C), -tocopherol, (vitamin-E), –carotene and etc. Free radicals-molecules or the part of the molecules, which have unpaired electrons are very active and therefore their discovery or identification is very difficult if we don’t use ultralow temperature or so called “spin-traps”. In this presentation we have discussed the ways of identification of the free radicals and also the ways of their neutralization.