Influence of carbon disulphide on hydroxyl radicals in the phenanthroline chemiluminescence system

Abstract

We investigated the effects of carbon disulphide (CS2) on hydroxyl radical generation using the phenanthroline chemiluminescence system. The influence of CS2 on the phenanthroline chemiluminescence system without CuSO4 and vitamin C were tested. The results showed that CS2 enhanced the emission intensity of chemiluminescence and advanced the peak time of the chemiluminescence. There was a dose–effect relationship between CS2 concentrations (0–160 mg/ml) and chemiluminescence peak intensity (r = 0.955, R2 = 0.913, p = 0.003), as well as CS2 concentrations and peak time (r = −0.927, R2 = 0.860, p = 0.008). The enhanced chemiluminescence induced by CS2 could be inhibited by thiourea, and the inhibition rate gradually deceased along with increasing CS2 concentration (r = −0.816, R2 = 0.666, p = 0.048). When the system was free of CuSO4 and vitamin C, CS2 also induced the emission of chemiluminescence intensity. We conclude from these results that CS2 can induce the phenanthroline chemiluminescence system to generate hydroxyl radicals and advance the peak time, and that thiourea can inhibit the effect. The mechanism may be explained by a catalytic effect of CS2 directly on H2O2. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.