Oxidative Interactions Between Hemoglobin and Egg Lecithin Liposomes

Abstract

The oxidative interaction between hemoglobin and unsaturated egg lecithin liposomes, characterized by the consumption of oxygen and the production of methemoglobin over time, was measured and modelled. The oxygen and methemoglobin profiles were fit by a mathematical model, using numerical integration techniques. From the model, it was determined that the catalytic rate constants for the effect of hemoglobin on lipid peroxidation varied with hemoglobin type, as deoxyhemoglobin > oxyhemoglobin = methemoglobin. Under in vivo conditions of oxygen tension, reaction rates were oxyhemoglobin > deoxyhemoglobin > methemoglobin. Vitamin E had about 35 times the antioxidant activity of cholesterol, as determined by the model. Both additives, together, appeared to stabilize the liposomal membrane, as manifested by their ability to prevent oxidation of approximately 95% of the available lipid.