Free radicals in chemistry, biology and medicine: contribution of radiation chemistry

Free radical chemistry is one of the topics to which radiation chemistry has made many important and essential contributions. Research on these usually shortlived transients has been particularly enhanced since the development of time-resolved techniques such as pulse radiolysis (in radiation chemistry) [34, 64] and laser flash photolysis (in photochemistry) [11], which allowed direct observation of free radicals on real time. There is a continuing need for basic research in this area due to the relevance of free radical reactions in many fields of chemistry [41], biology [49, 88], and medicine [49]. Radiation chemistry is a very valuable and powerful tool for solving fundamental and technological problems connected with atmospheric and environmental chemistry, organic synthesis, the polymer and paint industry, processes occurring in nonstandard environments such as supercritical media, ionic liquids, interfacial and heterogeneous systems [41]. Important applications of radiation chemistry are also connected with understanding of radical processes that are of particular interest in biology and medicine. Relevant examples include radical processes connected with a damage of biological material [32, 87], oxidative stress [70, 87], repairing and protective mechanisms [49, 71], aging [26, 31, 100], inflammation processes [92], and various diseases including cancer, and neurodegenerative diseases [31, 49, 87]. This article is not and cannot be an attempt to review important all experiments that have been conducted over the years by radiation chemists. There are numerous excellent and comprehensive Free radicals in chemistry, biology and medicine: contribution of radiation chemistry Krzysztof Bobrowski