Free Radicals in Biology and Medicine, Volume 189

The importance of radical reactions in radiation damage, food preservation, combustion, and in the rubber and paint industries has been known for many years. Such reactions have recently become of great interest to biologists and clinicians as their significance in normal body chemistry and inthe mode of action of many toxins has been recognized. The discoveries of hypoxic cell sensitizers that potentiate radiation-induced radical damage to cancerous tumours, of the enzyme superoxide dismutase, and of the mechanism of action of such toxins as paraquat and carbon tetrachloride providemajor examples of this importance. The explosive growth of interest in free radicals in recent years has necessitated the production of this second edition. The text has been extensively rewritten and the authors have taken the opportunity to update references to include recent research in this area. Aimed primarily at biologistsand clinicians, the book assumes virtually no knowledge of chemistry, although later chapters will also be of interest to free-radical chemists.