The reactions of caffeine (CAF) with different reactive oxygen species (ROS) have been studied using density functional theory. Five mechanisms of reaction have been considered, namely, radical adduct formation (RAF), hydrogen atom transfer (HAT), single electron transfer (SET), sequential electron proton transfer (SEPT), and proton coupled electron transfer (PCET). The SET, SEPT, and PCET mechanisms have been ruled out for the reactions of CAF with (•)OH, O(2)(•-), ROO(•), and RO(•) radicals. It was found that caffeine is inefficient for directly scavenging O(2)(•-) and (•)OOCH(3) radicals and most likely other alkyl peroxyl radicals. The overall reactivity of CAF toward (•)OH was found to be diffusion-controlled, regardless of the polarity of the environment, supporting the excellent (•)OH scavenging activity of CAF. On the other hand, it is predicted to be a modest scavenger of (•)OCH(3), and probably of other alkoxyl radicals, and a poor scavenger of HOO(•). RAF has been identified as the main mechanism involved in the direct ROS scavenging activity of CAF. The excellent agreement with the available experimental data supports the reliability of the present calculations.

Two empirically fitted parameters have been derived for 74 levels of theory. They allow fast and reliable pKa calculations using only the Gibbs energy difference between an acid and its conjugated base in aqueous solution (ΔGs(BA)). The parameters were obtained by least-squares fits of ΔGs(BA) vs experimental pKa values for phenols, carboxylic acids, and amines using training sets of 20 molecules for each chemical family. Test sets of 10 molecules per family-completely independent from the training set-were used to verify the reliability of the fitting parameters method. It was found that, except for MP2, deviations from experiments are lower than 0.5 pKa units. Moreover, mean unsigned errors lower than 0.35 pKa units were found for the 98.6%, 98.6%, and 94.6% of the tested levels of theory for phenols, carboxylic acids and amines, respectively. The parameters estimated here are expected to facilitate computationally based estimations of pKa values of species for which this magnitude is still unknown, with uncertainties similar to the experimental ones. However, the present study deals only with molecules of modest complexity, thus the reliability of the FP method for more complex systems remains to be tested.

The peroxyl radical scavenging activity of four hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives (HCAD) has been studied in non-polar and aqueous solutions, using the density functional theory. The studied HCAD are: ferulic acid (4-hydroxy-3-methoxycinnamic acid), p-coumaric acid (trans-4-hydroxycinnamic acid), caffeic acid (3,4-dihydroxycinnamic acid), and dihydrocaffeic acid (3-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-2-propionic acid). It was found that the polarity of the environment plays an important role in the relative efficiency of these compounds as peroxyl scavengers. It was also found that in aqueous solution the pH is a key factor for the overall reactivity of HCAD towards peroxyl radicals, for their relative antioxidant capacity, and for the relative importance of the different mechanisms of reaction. The H transfer from the phenolic OH has been identified as the main mechanism of reaction in non-polar media and in aqueous solution at acid pHs. On the other hand, the single electron transfer mechanism from the phenoxide anion is proposed to be the one contributing the most to the overall peroxyl scavenging activity of HCAD in aqueous solution at physiological pH (7.4). This process is also predicted to be a key factor in the reactivity of these compounds towards a large variety of free radicals.

Several chemical descriptors have been evaluated for thirty polyphenols within the frame of the Density Functional Theory (DFT). They were used to investigate the donor and accepting electron capabilities, the fractional charge transfer feasibility, and the H transfer ability of these compounds. It was found that for deactivating free radicals Myricetin has the highest activity via H transfer, while Galangin and piceatannol are the best scavengers through the single electron transfer mechanism for nucleophilic and electrophilic free radicals, respectively.

The peroxyl radical scavenging activity of five guaiacol derivatives (GD) has been studied in nonpolar and aqueous solutions, using the density functional theory. The studied GD are guaiacol, vanillin, vanillic alcohol, vanillic acid, and eugenol. It was found that the environment plays an important role in the peroxyl scavenging activity of these compounds. They were all found to react faster in aqueous solution than in nonpolar media. The order of reactivity in nonpolar environments was found to be vanillic alcohol > eugenol > guaiacol > vanillin > vanillic acid, while, in aqueous solution, at physiological pH, it becomes vanillic acid > vanillic alcohol > guaiacol ≈ eugenol > vanillin. It was also found that in aqueous solution as the pH increases so does the reactivity of GD toward peroxyl radicals. The environment also has important effects on the relative importance of the hydrogen transfer (HT) and the sequential proton electron transfer (SPET) mechanisms, which are the ones relevant to the peroxyl radical scavenging activity of GD. The HT from the phenolic OH was identified as the main scavenging process in nonpolar media, and in aqueous solution at pH ≤ 4. On the other hand, SPET is proposed to be the one contributing the most to the overall peroxyl scavenging activity of GD in aqueous solution at pH ≥ 6.