Autoxidation and cytotoxicity

A comprehensive synthesis, or reaction schema, to relate autoxidations of non-lipid compounds to lipid chain peroxidation in vivo is presented. This is done in the context of cytotoxic autoxidation reactions, and it is concluded that hydroxyl radicals produced by iron-dependent Fenton reactions serve as both primary toxicants and as sources of secondary toxicants. The latter stem from lipid chain peroxidation initiated by the Fenton-derived hydroxyl radicals, which are visualized as the obligate coupling step linking enzyme-dependent and non-enzymic autoxidations to potentially toxic outcomes.