Tempo is a classic nitroxide radical and is a selective scavenger of mitochondrial ROS that dismutases superoxide in the catalytic cycle. Tempo induces DNA-strand breakage. Tempo can be used as an organocatalyst for the oxidation of primary alcohols to aldehydes. Tempo has mutagenic and antioxidant effects[1][2][3][4].
[1]. Du K, et al. Mitochondria-targeted antioxidant Mito-Tempo protects against acetaminophen hepatotoxicity. Arch Toxicol. 2017 Feb;91(2):761-773. [2]. Guo X, et al. Comparative Genotoxicity of TEMPO and 3 of Its Derivatives in Mouse Lymphoma Cells. Toxicol Sci. 2018 May 1;163(1):214-225. [3]. Lv H, et al. TEMPO catalyzed oxidative dehydrogenation of hydrazobenzenes to azobenzenes. Org Biomol Chem. 2020 Apr 22. [4]. Chen X, et al. Isocitrate dehydrogenase 2 contributes to radiation resistance of oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma via regulating mitochondrial function and ROS/pAKT signalling. Br J Cancer. 2020 May 5.