Why do they refer protein oxidation as Chlorination, Nitration?
In general, oxidation is the loss of electrons/Hydrogen and the gain of oxygen.
How does Chlorination (addition of Cl) or Nitration (addition of NO2) to a peptide or protein is considered as oxidation?
BTW Nitration is the addition of N2 or NO2?
Hypochlorous acid oxidizes proteins along cysteine bonds to sulfoxides. Nitric acid in mixture with sulfuric (concentrated) are also oxidants of benzene rings. If we consider these processes in more detail, then they also have the recoil and reception of electrons.
Oxidation (and reduction) implyes a variation of the oxidation number of the considered atom. If the o.n. become more positive the considered atom is oxidized. If in an organic compound one hydrogen linked to a carbon is substituted with a more electron negative atom the oxidation state of the carbon is always increased.
Increase in positive charge is also known as oxidation so when Chlorine atom forms the bond with carbon atom it creates partial positive charge on C atom in this way it may also be termed as oxidation. Same is case with introduction of nitro group to carbon atom. Thus whenever partial positive charge increase on C atom in organic compound like protein mostly by introduction of more electronegative atoms like Cl, F, N, O etc. oxidation said to have occurred and vice versa for reduction.
Oxidation or reduction means a relative change in the overall oxidation state/status or number (+ charge) of a compound after reacting with other. So, it may not always involve orygen or hydrogen atom, but others like halogen, N etc.
simply acceptation of electrons by chlorine or other oxidizing agents to any agent (proteins) that donates these electrons can be called oxidation.
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