Radical-Chain Oxidation of Isopropyl Alcohol Inhibited by Uracil Additives

Abstract

At present, it is commonly believed that damage to cerebral neurons caused by convulsive poisons is related to the process of lipid peroxidation (LPO) in the cell membranes [1, 2]. It was established that some uracil derivatives are capable of inhibiting the LPO process, their antioxidant activity being correlated with the prophylactic effect with respect to intoxication with methanol and other organic poisons. It was also demonstrated that uracils are capable of stimulating regeneration and immunogenesis [3]. At the same time, it was found that the immunomodulant properties of drugs correlate with their ability to inhibit the radical-chain oxidation of organic compounds. In order to study the activity of some uracils in reactions with oxyperoxy radicals, we selected the model reaction of oxidation of isopropyl alcohol. The potential antioxidants were uracil (U), methyluracil (MU), and 5–hydroxy-6-methyluracil (HMU). The antioxidant activity of these uracils were studied with respect to the reaction of initiated oxidation of isopropyl alcohol at 75°C. The oxidation inhibition effect was evaluated by the change in the rate of oxygen absorption from air in the presence of uracils, which was determined using a high-sensitivity manometric setup. The initial isopropyl alcohol, purified by conventional methods [4], was characterized by the kinetic purity expressed by the oxidation capacity parameter determined in a special experiment: k