Chemistry of ascorbic acid organic acids as an alcohol forming esters such as ascorbyl palmitate and ascorbyl stearate. Nucleophilic attack of ascorbic acid on a proton results in a 1,3-diketone: The ascorbate ion is the predominant species at typical biological pH values. It is a mild reducing agent and antioxidant. It is oxidized with loss of one electron to form a radical cation and then with loss of a second electron to form dehydroascorbic acid. It typically reacts with oxidants of the reactive oxygen species, such as the hydroxyl radical. Ascorbic acid is special because it can transfer a single electron, owing to the
Nucleic acid structure determination short lived in solution they need to be generated. This can be done using HO, ascorbic acid, and Fe(II)-EDTA complex which is attached to the backbone through EDTA. The Fe(II) along with ascorbic acid generates hydroxyl radicals which then can react with the nucleic acid molecules. Hydroxyl radical probing is often used in conjunction with chemical probing of nucleic acid molecules that are thought to associate with proteins, this is due to the modification done by hydroxyl radicals. Hydroxyl radicals attack the ribose/deoxyribose ring and this results in breaking of the phosphate backbone, which is independent of secondary structure, as