Hydrogen peroxide Hydrogen peroxide is the simplest peroxide (a compound with an oxygen–oxygen single bond) and finds use as a weak oxidizer, bleaching agent, and disinfectant. Scientists found that hydrogen peroxide presence inside cells increased after tissues are damaged. The compound is a major factor implicated in the free-radical theory of aging, based on how readily hydrogen peroxide can decompose into a hydroxyl radical and how superoxide radical byproducts of cellular metabolism can react with ambient water to form hydrogen peroxide.
|