We performed mechanistic studies of the reaction of PBN with the physiologically relevant glutathiyl radical,GS
, formed upon oxidation of the intracellular antioxidant, glutathione, GSH. The scavenging rate constantof GS
by PBN has been measured directly by laser flash photolysis and indirectly by competitive EPR of thespin adduct of PBN and another spin trap, DMPO (5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline
N-oxide), and was found to be6.7 × 10
7 M
-1 s
-1. Reverse decomposition of the paramagnetic PBN-glutathiyl radical adduct to the nitroneand thiyl radical was observed for the first time. The rate constant for the reaction of the monomoleculardecomposition of the radical adduct was found to be 1.7 s
-1. Diamagnetic, EPR-invisible products of PBNadduct degradation were studied by
1H NMR and
19F NMR using newly synthesized fluorine-substitutedPBN.