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Making Sense Of Peroxide:
Sensor for Hydrogen peroxide will aid study
of its 'good cop, bad cop' roles in biology
by AMANDA YARNELL
A new selective, cell-permeable
optical probe for hydrogen peroxide promises to shed light on this
reactive oxygen species’ dueling pathological and physiological
roles.
Oxidative damage caused by H2O2 has been linked to cancer, cardiovascular
disorders, and neurodegenerative diseases. Also, it’s been
revealed that this potentially dangerous species plays an important
cellular role as a signaling molecule (C&EN, May 26, 2003, page
36). University of California, Berkeley, assistant chemistry professor
Christopher J. Chang
says his team’s H2O2-specific sensor molecule will be useful
for studying the interplay of peroxide’s pathological and physiological
roles in living cells [J. Am. Chem. Soc., 126, 15392 (2004)].
The new probe doesn’t suffer any of the limitations of currently
available H2O2-responsive probes, including cross-reactivity with
other reactive oxygen species, the need for enzymatic activation,
or poor water solubility. Among biological reactive oxygen species,
only H2O2 hydrolyzes the boronate protecting groups on Chang’s
water-soluble, colorless sensor, converting it into visible-light-emitting
fluorescein. The H2O2-specific sensor has a detection range that
spans the peroxide concentrations thought to be used in cell signaling.
Having demonstrated that the sensor can be used to detect H2O2 in
living mammalian cells, Chang now plans to use it to study peroxide-mediated
signaling and oxidative damage.
Related sites:
Chris
Chang research site
Chemical
& Engineering News
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