Mitigation of Singlet Oxygen (1ΔgO2) Damage in Biological Systems

Active oxygen species have been implicated in a wide variety of environmental and health effects, including aging, heart disease, and induction of cancers. One of these reactive species, singlet oxygen (1Δ_gO₂), the lowest energy electronically excited state of molecular oxygen, has evoked particular interest, because of its potential to react with a variety of biologically important substrates.and because it may be generated in living systems by the decomposition or interconversion of other active oxygen species, photosensitization reactions involving endogenous sensitizers, electron transport systems, and some enzyme systems (references cited in 1).