although its relevance to defective β-cell function has not received a great deal of investigation. In 1988, Hunt et al. (18) demonstrated that α-hydroxyaldehyde products of glucose (such as glyceraldehyde) can undergo enolization to produce an enediol radical anion in the presence of heavy metals. In the presence of oxygen, these anions generate superoxide anions that combine to form hydrogen peroxide in a reaction catalyzed by superoxide dismutase (SOD). In the presence of heavy metals, hydrogen peroxide forms the highly toxic hydroxyl radical. Hunt et al. also demonstrated that hydroxyl radical scavengers protect against glucose-induced fragmentation of protein.