Chapter 17: Remote Singlet Oxygen Delivery Strategies

Techniques developed to understand the delivery of ¹O₂ are described. This chapter strives to push the idea of ¹O₂ delivery further by examining two types of delivery—first, the transport of ¹O₂ as defined by the presence of surrounding physical and chemical quenchers. Nearby oscillators such as solvent O–H bonds quench ¹O₂ to ground state ³O₂ to keep it from venturing far, ∼200 nm. Airborne ¹O₂, on the other hand, can travel 5000 times further to oxidize compounds and kill bacteria at air/solid and air/liquid interfaces. Secondly, the transport of ¹O₂ by carrier compounds is described. Singlet oxygenation examples will include endoperoxides and hydroperoxides. For example, the decomposition of naphthalene endoperoxide is a retro-Diels–Alder reaction of “masked” ¹O₂ for targeted ¹O₂ delivery possibilities.