A variety of peptidic and proteinaceous
contaminants (e.g., proteins,
toxins, pathogens) present in the environment may pose risk to human
health and wildlife. Peroxymonosulfate is a strong oxidant (E
H
0 = 1.82 V for HSO5
–, the predominant species at environmental pH values)
that may hold promise for the deactivation of proteinaceous contaminants.
Relatively little quantitative information exists on the rates of
peroxymonosulfate reactions with free amino acids. Here, we studied
the oxidation of 19 of the 20 standard proteinogenic amino acids (all
except cysteine) by peroxymonosulfate without explicit activation.
Reaction half-lives at pH 7 ranged from milliseconds to hours. Amino
acids possessing sulfur-containing, heteroaromatic, or substituted
aromatic side chains were the most susceptible to oxidation by peroxymonosulfate,
with rates of transformation decreasing in the order methionine >
tryptophan > tyrosine > histidine. The rate of tryptophan oxidation
did not decrease in the presence of an aquatic natural organic matter.
Singlet oxygen resulting from peroxymonosulfate self-decomposition,
while detected by electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy, was
unlikely to be the principal reactive species. Our results demonstrate
that peroxymonosulfate is capable of oxidizing 19 amino acids without
explicit activation and that solvent-exposed methionine and tryptophan
residues are likely initial targets of oxidation in peptides and proteins.