Electron paramagnetic resonance in a biomedical laboratory

“Without doubt, electron paramagnetic resonance can become a valuable addition to the arsenal of analytical methods in a modern biomedical laboratory.” Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR; also called electron spin resonance [ESR]) was discovered in 1944 by EK Zavoisky (for history see [1]). This method uniquely allows the specific and sensitive detection/characterization of paramagnetic species (species having unpaired electrons) in most types of samples. Since its discovery, the EPR approach has deserved a gold standard reputation in studying free radicals and transitional metal complexes at some valence state (e.g., Fe3+, Cu2+, Mo5+ and Mn2+) and, nowadays, is widely used in different...