A simple method for assaying extracellular hydroxyl radical activity and its application to natural and synthetic waters

Abstract

An assay has been developed to measure extracellular hydroxyl radical (OH*) activity in algal culture media and natural waters over a 4- to 5-day period. The first-order rate constant, k, for loss of absorbance at 590 or 620 nm was determined for erioglaucine, which is sensitive to OH*, insensitive to superoxide and hydrogen peroxide, and stable in the dark and under artificial radiation (280–750 nm) and solar radiation in the absence of oxidants. Variation in irradiance was accounted for by normalizing k with k for a ferric iron reference solution with dye (k/kfe). Trends in k/kfe for streams and lakes were consistent with previous data on photochemical oxidation rates of dissolved organic matter. Values for k/kfe were similar in filtered surface waters of eutrophic Heart Lake and nearby mesotrophic Lake St. George under artificial radiation. Hence, extracellular OH* did not appear to be a direct cause of the onset of a nuisance cyanobacterial bloom in Heart Lake, nor did OH* appear related to the absence of a bloom in Lake St. George. k/kfe was two orders of magnitude higher in algal culture media supplied with 8.8 mM nitrate than in lake waters.