Unusual Kinetic Isotope Effects of Deuterium Reinforced Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Tocopherol-Mediated Free Radical Chain Oxidations

Substitution of −CD₂– at the reactive centers of linoleic and linolenic acids reduces the rate of abstraction of D by a tocopheryl radical by as much as 36-fold, compared to the abstraction of H from a corresponding −CH₂– center. This H atom transfer reaction is the rate-determining step in the tocopherol-mediated peroxidation of lipids in human low-density lipoproteins, a process that has been linked to coronary artery disease. The unanticipated large kinetic isotope effects reported here for the tocopherol-mediated oxidation of linoleic and linolenic acids and esters suggests that tunneling makes this process favorable.