The Mechanism of Photooxidation of the Menaquinones

David Creed, University of Southern Mississippi
Harold Werbin, University of Texas at Dallas
Tom Daniel, University of Texas at Dallas

Abstract

Irradiation of menaquinone-1 under nitrogen gives rise to metastable isomeric o-quinone methides, one of which reacts with oxygen in the dark to form the same hydroperoxide obtained previously from direct or dye sensitized photolysis of the quinone in the presence of oxygen.