A new siderophore, N5,N6-thiodipropanoyl-bis[N1,N10-bis(2,3-dihydroxy benzo
yl-spermidine)]-Fe (III) complex or H2LFe has been synthesised. The reactio
n of the reduced form of this complex with dioxygen has been investigated t
hrough electrochemical study and revealed the formation of a new species as
sumed to be H2O2. This species has been confirmed by esr spectroscopy using
the diamagnetic compound 5-deutero-2,2,5-trimethylpyrrolidine-1-hydroxyl a
s spin trap. The resulting persistent radical is 5-deutero-2,2,5-trimethylp
yrrolidine-1-yloxy (a(N)=16.58 G, a(D)=3.49 G). (C) 1999 Elsevier Science L
td. All rights reserved.