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Title: Biological effects of cigarette smoke, wood smoke, and the smoke from plastics: The use of electron spin resonance

Abstract

This review compares and contrasts the chemistry of cigarette smoke, wood smoke, and the smoke from plastics and building materials that is inhaled by persons trapped in fires. Cigarette smoke produces cancer, emphysema, and other diseases after a delay of years. Acute exposure to smoke in a fire can produce a loss of lung function and death after a delay of days or weeks. Tobacco smoke and the smoke inhaled in a burning building have some similarities from a chemical viewpoint. For example, both contain high concentrations of CO and other combustion products. In addition, both contain high concentrations of free radicals, and our laboratory has studied these free radicals, largely by electron spin resonance (ESR) methods, for about 15 years. This article reviews what is known about the radicals present in these different types of smokes and soots and tars and summarizes the evidence that suggests these radicals could be involved in cigarette-induced pathology and smoke-inhalation deaths. The combustion of all organic materials produces radicals, but (with the exception of the smoke from perfluoropolymers) the radicals that are detected by ESR methods (and thus the radicals that would reach the lungs) are not those that arise in the combustionmore » process. Rather they arise from chemical reactions that occur in the smoke itself. Thus, a knowledge of the chemistry of the smoke is necessary to understand the nature of the radicals formed. Even materials as similar as cigarettes and wood (cellulose) produce smoke that contains radicals with very different lifetimes and chemical characteristics, and mechanistic rationales for this are discussed. Cigarette tar contains a semiquinone radical that is infinitely stable and can be directly observed by ESR. Aqueous extracts of cigarette tar, which contain this radical, reduce oxygen to superoxide and thus produce both hydrogen peroxide and the hydroxyl radical.« less

Authors:
 [1]
  1. Louisiana State Univ., Baton Rouge (United States)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
7183224
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Free Radical Biology and Medicine; (United States)
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 13:6; Journal ID: ISSN 0891-5849
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES; 63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.; SMOKES; ACUTE EXPOSURE; BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS; BUILDING MATERIALS; CHEMICAL REACTIONS; COMBUSTION; COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS; DEATH; DISEASES; ELECTRON SPIN RESONANCE; EMPHYSEMA; FIRES; HYDROGEN; INHALATION; OXYGEN; PATHOLOGY; PLASTICS; RADICALS; REVIEWS; TAR; TOBACCO; WOOD; AEROSOLS; COLLOIDS; DISPERSIONS; DOCUMENT TYPES; ELEMENTS; EVALUATION; INTAKE; MAGNETIC RESONANCE; MATERIALS; NONMETALS; ORGANIC COMPOUNDS; OTHER ORGANIC COMPOUNDS; OXIDATION; PETROCHEMICALS; PETROLEUM PRODUCTS; RESIDUES; RESONANCE; RESPIRATORY SYSTEM DISEASES; SOLS; SYNTHETIC MATERIALS; THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES; 550200* - Biochemistry; 560300 - Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology

Citation Formats

Pryor, W A. Biological effects of cigarette smoke, wood smoke, and the smoke from plastics: The use of electron spin resonance. United States: N. p., 1992. Web. doi:10.1016/0891-5849(92)90040-N.
Pryor, W A. Biological effects of cigarette smoke, wood smoke, and the smoke from plastics: The use of electron spin resonance. United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/0891-5849(92)90040-N
Pryor, W A. 1992. "Biological effects of cigarette smoke, wood smoke, and the smoke from plastics: The use of electron spin resonance". United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/0891-5849(92)90040-N.
@article{osti_7183224,
title = {Biological effects of cigarette smoke, wood smoke, and the smoke from plastics: The use of electron spin resonance},
author = {Pryor, W A},
abstractNote = {This review compares and contrasts the chemistry of cigarette smoke, wood smoke, and the smoke from plastics and building materials that is inhaled by persons trapped in fires. Cigarette smoke produces cancer, emphysema, and other diseases after a delay of years. Acute exposure to smoke in a fire can produce a loss of lung function and death after a delay of days or weeks. Tobacco smoke and the smoke inhaled in a burning building have some similarities from a chemical viewpoint. For example, both contain high concentrations of CO and other combustion products. In addition, both contain high concentrations of free radicals, and our laboratory has studied these free radicals, largely by electron spin resonance (ESR) methods, for about 15 years. This article reviews what is known about the radicals present in these different types of smokes and soots and tars and summarizes the evidence that suggests these radicals could be involved in cigarette-induced pathology and smoke-inhalation deaths. The combustion of all organic materials produces radicals, but (with the exception of the smoke from perfluoropolymers) the radicals that are detected by ESR methods (and thus the radicals that would reach the lungs) are not those that arise in the combustion process. Rather they arise from chemical reactions that occur in the smoke itself. Thus, a knowledge of the chemistry of the smoke is necessary to understand the nature of the radicals formed. Even materials as similar as cigarettes and wood (cellulose) produce smoke that contains radicals with very different lifetimes and chemical characteristics, and mechanistic rationales for this are discussed. Cigarette tar contains a semiquinone radical that is infinitely stable and can be directly observed by ESR. Aqueous extracts of cigarette tar, which contain this radical, reduce oxygen to superoxide and thus produce both hydrogen peroxide and the hydroxyl radical.},
doi = {10.1016/0891-5849(92)90040-N},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/7183224}, journal = {Free Radical Biology and Medicine; (United States)},
issn = {0891-5849},
number = ,
volume = 13:6,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Dec 01 00:00:00 EST 1992},
month = {Tue Dec 01 00:00:00 EST 1992}
}