Use of spin traps in biological systems

Free radicals including superoxide have been proposed to mediate a variety of cellular responses including phagocytosis, ischemic tissue injury, aging and cancer. However, it has only been in recent years that procedures have been developed which allows one to study the role free radicals play in cellular injury. One such method that has received considerable attention is spin trapping. This technique consists of using a nitrone or a nitroso compound to “trap” the initial unstable free radical as a “long-lived” nitroxide that can be observed at room temperature using convention ESR spectrometric procedures. This review examines how a number of investigators have employed spin trapping methodologies to study the generation of free radicals as a consequence of biological activation by drugs and other foreign compounds.