FUNCTIONAL MIMICS OF Cu, ZN- SUPEROXIDE DISMUTASE ENZYMES

摘要

The purpose of this chapter is to summarize the knowledge on the ability of metal complexes to act as catalysts of the dismutation of superoxide radicals to hydrogen peroxide and dioxygen. The focus will be on the critical evaluation of this knowledge, and to suggest future developments. No attempt is made to be exhaustive in this very large body of literature. This field has grown so vast that discussing or even citing most of the important contributions is virtually impossible; therefore, important aspects might, and will, remain uncovered. Rather, the authors focus particularly on specific copper compounds, for which, to the best of our knowledge, the most recent review was published in 1989.