[9-14C]FLUORENE HYDROPEROXIDE AS A POSSIBLE INTERMEDIATE IN HYDROXYLATION OF [9-14C]FLUORENE BY RAT LIVER HOMOGENATE

1. 1 [9-14C]-fluorene was chosen as substrate to study the mechanism of biological oxygenation. Both fluorene and fluorene hydroperoxide were converted to fluorenol by rat liver supernatant fraction obtained at 10 000 × g. When the liver enzyme was bolied, it no longer converted fluorene to fluorenol; however, it converted fluorene hydroperoxide to fluorenol at 36% of the activity of actiev unheated enzyme. 2. 2. The pretreatment of rats with fluorene doubled the enzymatic activity for the conversion of fluorene to fluorenol, whereas phenobarbital increased activity to 5-fold as compared to control. 3. 3. Radioactive fluorene hydroperoxide has been identified in reaction mixtures hydroxylating [9-14C]fluorene. An incorporation yield of 4.8% of [9-14C]fluorene hydroperoxide from [9-14C]fluorene was obtained. The radioactive fluorene hydroperoxide was isolated, converted into fluorenone and the phenylhydrazone. The identity and purity was confirmed by thin-layer chromatography, by ultraviolet spectra and by specific determination. 4. 4 The findings indicated that [9-14C]fluorene hydroperoxide can be an intermediate in the hydroxylation of [9-14C]fluorene by rat liver homogenate. © 1969.