The extracellular production of singlet oxygen (O2(1 delta g)) by stimulated macrophages was measured using a modification of our quantitative method initially developed to measure the intracellular production of O2(1 delta g) by neutrophils (Steinbeck, M. J., Khan, A. U., and Karnovsky, M. J. (1992) J. Biol. Chem. 267, 13425-13433). Glass coverslips were coated with the specific chemical trap for O2(1 delta g), 9,10-diphenylanthracene (DPA) and perylene, which is an internal standard, in a methylene chloride solution containing 0.3 mg/ml polystyrene. On evaporation, the polystyrene formed an even coating of DPA and perylene over the surface of a glass coverslip (PDP film). Unstimulated macrophages or macrophages stimulated with 4 beta-phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) or formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (fMLP) were then added to the PDP film in a darkened room and incubated at 37 degrees C for 30 min in a humidified 5% CO2 atmosphere. Both unstimulated and stimulated cells adhered to the PDP film in approximately equivalent numbers. Only stimulated cells produced measurable amounts of O2(1 delta g) in a dose-dependent response to either PMA or fMLP. The production of O2(1 delta g) by macrophages stimulated with PMA was maximal in response to 25 ng, 17.8 +/- 1.3 nmol of O2(1 delta g)/approximately 1.00 x 10(6) cells. The maximal response for fMLP was at a concentration of 1 microM, 18.4 +/- 1.0 nmol of O2(1 delta g)/approximately 1.00 x 10(6) cells. The specific detection of O2(1 delta g) by this method was confirmed by thermally releasing O2(1 delta g) from the DPA-O2(1 delta g) reaction product, DPA-endoperoxide, regenerating the original DPA compound. Production of O2(1 delta g) by the stimulated cells was inhibited 80-89% by the addition of 60-120 micrograms of superoxide dismutase, an enzyme that converts superoxide to hydrogen peroxide and ground state molecular oxygen or 79-84% with the addition of 2 mM histidine, an avid quencher of O2(1 delta g). Neither of these additions interfered with adhesion of the cells to the PDP film. The ability of superoxide dismutase to inhibit the production of O2(1 delta g) suggested that O2(1 delta g) was produced via a superoxide-dependent route. The ability of an oxidase to produce O2(1 delta g) secondary to superoxide production was substantiated further using a xanthine oxidase-acetaldehyde system. Purified xanthine oxidase produced both superoxide and O2(1 delta g), and their production was inhibited by the addition of superoxide dismutase.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)