FREE RADICAL

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does free radical mean? 

• FREE RADICAL (noun)
  The noun FREE RADICAL has 1 sense:

1. an atom or group of atoms with at least one unpaired electron; in the body it is usually an oxygen molecule that has lost an electron and will stabilize itself by stealing an electron from a nearby molecule

  Familiarity information: FREE RADICAL used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• FREE RADICAL (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An atom or group of atoms with at least one unpaired electron; in the body it is usually an oxygen molecule that has lost an electron and will stabilize itself by stealing an electron from a nearby molecule

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Synonyms:

free radical; radical

Context example:

in the body free radicals are high-energy particles that ricochet wildly and damage cells

Hypernyms ("free radical" is a kind of...):

atom ((physics and chemistry) the smallest component of an element having the chemical properties of the element)

 Context examples 

High energy light, like ultraviolet laser light, can form free radicals able to attack cancer tissue.

(Making higher energy light to fight cancer, National Science Foundation)

GSH plays a major role as an antioxidant, thereby protecting cells from oxidative damage due to harmful substances such as free radicals and reactive oxygen compounds.

(Cysteine-Rich Non-Denatured Whey Protein Isolate IMN1207, NCI Thesaurus)

As potential chemopreventive agents, catechins scavenge free radicals; inhibit enzymes involved in cell replication and DNA synthesis; interfere with cell-to-cell contact adhesion; and inhibit various intracellular communication pathways required for cell division.

(Defined Green Tea Catechin Extract, NCI Thesaurus)

Free radicals are unstable molecules that are made during normal cell metabolism (chemical changes that take place in a cell).

(Catechin, NCI Dictionary)

The activation of eosinophils leads to release of toxic granules and oxygen free radicals that lead to tissue damage and promote the development of chronic inflammation.

(Asthma Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/KEGG)

Bleomycin antibiotics form complexes with iron that react with molecular oxygen to produce superoxide and hydroxyl free radicals, causing single- and double-stranded breaks in DNA.

(Bleomycin Antibiotic, NCI Thesaurus)

Cabergoline also possesses antioxidant and neuroprotective properties due to its free radical scavenging activity.

(Cabergoline, NCI Thesaurus)

Although the exact mechanism of action remains to be fully elucidated, DG may prevent or reduce hepatotoxicity via the scavenging of free radicals.

(Diammonium Glycyrrhizinate, NCI Thesaurus)

A highly polar organic liquid that is used widely as a chemical solvent and a free radical scavenger.

(Dimethyl sulfoxide, NCI Thesaurus)

GSSG and GSH together play important roles in numerous redox reactions, such as those involved in the detoxification of harmful substances and free radicals, and in reactions preventing oxidative damage in erythrocytes.

(Oxiglutatione, NCI Thesaurus)