Emanation of Hydroxyl Radicals From Human Skin

• Published in: IEEE sensors journal Vol. 13; no. 4; pp. 1223 - 1227
• Main Authors: Dock-Chil Che, Shimouchi, A., Mizukami, T., Nose, K., Seiyama, A., Kasai, T.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York IEEE 01.04.2013; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Antioxidant; Biological effects of radiation; Chemical reactions; Emission; Entrances; Fluorescence; hydroxyl radical; Hydroxyl radicals; Ingestion; laser-induced fluorescence; Palm; Radicals; Sampling; Skin
• ISSN: 1530-437X; 1558-1748
• DOI: 10.1109/JSEN.2012.2228016

Hydroxyl radicals (OH) that emanated from the skin on the palm of the hand were detected using a novel laser-induced fluorescence system, which consisted of an ultraviolet laser system, a chamber with a sample entrance, and a detection system with a photomultiplier. When a subject placed the palm of their hand over the sampling entrance, the resultant excitation spectrum exhibited a specific increase in the region representing the resonance fluorescence signal for OH radicals. By examining seven volunteers using the system, we found that the ingestion of a vitamin C solution significantly decreased the palm to background signal ratio from 1.16±0.04 (SD) to 1.03±0.03 and that vitamin E significantly reduced the ratio from 1.14±0.09 to 1.00±0.04. These results strongly suggest that OH radicals emanate from the skin surface.