Diesel exhaust particles cause an impairment of endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation and are associated with cardiopulmonary-related diseases and mortality, but the mechanistic details are poorly understood. Since we reported previously that phenanthraquinone, an environmental chemical contained in diesel exhaust particles, suppresses neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) activity by shunting e...

Copper(II) forms 1:1 and 1:2 intense red complexes with phenanthraquinone monophenylthiosemicarbazone (PPT) at pH 3-3.5 and > or =6.5, respectively. These complexes exhibit maximal absorbance at 545 and 517 nm, the molar absorptivity being 2.3 x 10(4) and 4.8 x 10(4) l mol(-1) cm(-1), respectively. However, the 1:1 complex was quantitatively floated with oleic acid (HOL) surfactant in the pH ra...