Western Illinois University, Chemistry, Macomb, IL 61455
Coenzyme Q10, also known as ubiquinone or CoQ10, has a chemical name of 2- [(2E,6E,10E,14E,18E, 22E,26E,30E,34E)-3,7,11,15,19,23,27,31,35,39-decamethyltetraconta-2,6,10,14,18, 22,26,30,34,38-decaenyl]-5, 6-dimethoxy-3-methylcyclohexa-2,5-diene-1,4-dione. It exists in three redox states: fully oxidized ubiquinone, partially reduced ubisemiquinone, and fully reduced ubiquinol. Coenzyme Q10 is produced by the human body and is necessary for the basic functioning of cells. However, the levels of Co Q10 decrease with age and are low in patients with some chronic diseases such as cancer and diabetes. It also functions as an antioxidant, which protects the body from damage caused by harmful molecules. In addition, it helps heart failure, as well as cancer, muscular dystrophy, and periodontal disease. The redox functions and antioxidant protection of Coenzyme Q10 are based on the ability to exchange two electrons in a redox cycle between the reduced form ubiquinol and the oxidized form ubiquinone. The body has reductase enzymes which take the ingested CoQ10 in food and supplements and convert most of it into Ubiquinol. In order to explore the mechanism of the antioxidant activities of Coenzyme Q10, the charge transfer complexes (CT complex) between ubiquinone-tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ) and ubiquinol-TCNQ were prepared respectively. TCNQ is a highly electron-deficient compound which serves as an electron-acceptor, whereas ubiquinone or ubiquinol serves as an electron-donor. The CT complexes will be studied by UV-visible and IR spectroscopy. The comparison will help us better understand the mechanism of the antioxidant effect of Coenzyme Q10.
[Abstract (DOCX)]