The decay of nitroxide spin label electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) absorption intensity was used to investigate the doxorubicin-mediated intracellular generation of free radicals. The effects of 50-500 micrograms/ml doxorubicin on human tumor cells (MCF-7, breast cancer cells, and HL-60, promyelocytic leukemia, cells) were studied by measuring 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl (TEMPO) absorption intensity decay (TAID) at a TEMPO concentration of 10 microM. Doxorubicin accelerated the TAID in both cell lines with a detection limit of 50 micrograms/ml for MCF-7 cells and 500 micrograms/ml doxorubicin for HL-60 cells. Preincubation of cells with the iron chelating agent, deferoxamine (5 mM), partially prevented the effects of doxorubicin on the TAID. Catalase and copper, zinc-superoxide dismutase (Cu,Zn-SOD) had no influence on the effects of doxorubicin on the TAID in intact cells. However, Cu,Zn-SOD completely abolished the effects of doxorubicin on the TAID in a MCF-7 cell-free system. Our findings suggest that doxorubicin mediates the intracellular generation of O2.- and that iron is involved in this process.