Water induced dismutation of superoxide anion generates singlet molecular oxygen

Direct spectroscopic measurement of 1268 nm singlet oxygen emission from KO2 suspensions at room temperature in three non-protonic solvents — CCl4, Cl2FCCClF2, and C6F14 by the action of water is reported. The results clearly show that the singlet oxygen generation is due to a water induced reaction, and suggest that one role of the enzyme superoxide dismutase may be the protection of biological structures, for example, lipid membranes, from degradation by singlet oxygen.