Aerobic and anaerobic abiotic oxidation of squalene in the presence of hydroperoxides

Abiotic oxidation of squalene in the presence of hydroperoxysterols was stu died in seawater under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. This ubiquitous is oprenoid alkene is quickly degraded in the presence of oxygen and its oxida tion results mainly in the production of tertiary alcohols and to a lesser extent of epoxides and secondary alcohols. Although the degradation of squa lene logically slows down under anaerobic conditions, a significant oxidati on affording similar products than in the case of aerobic degradation has b een observed. These results show that hydroperoxysterols, which seem to be well preserved in Recent sediments, could contribute to the oxidation of un saturated lipids (such as squalene) in sedimentary environments under oxic and anoxic conditions. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.