Benzene in soft drinks in soft drinks is the decarboxylation of benzoic acid in the presence of ascorbic acid (vitamin C, E300) or erythorbic acid (a diastereomer of ascorbic acid, E315). Benzoic acid is often added to drinks as a preservative in the form of its salts sodium benzoate (E211), potassium benzoate (E 212), or calcium benzoate (E 213). Citric acid is not thought to induce significant benzene production in combination with benzoic acid, but some evidence suggests that in the presence of ascorbic or erythorbic acid and benzoic acid, citric acid may accelerate the production of benzene. The proposed mechanism begins with hydrogen
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