A colourimetric sensor for the simultaneous determination of oxidative status and antioxidant activity on the same membrane: N,N-Dimethyl-p-phenylene diamine (DMPD) on Nafion

Online and offline preconcentration techniques on paper-based analytical devices for ultrasensitive chemical and biochemical analysis: A review

Microfluidic paper-based analytical devices (μPADs) have attracted much attention over the past decade. They embody many advantages, such as abundance, portability, cost-effectiveness, and ease of fabrication, making them superior for clinical diagnostics, environmental monitoring, and food safety assurance. Despite these advantages, μPADs lack the high sensitivity to detect many analytes at trace levels than other commercial analytical instruments such as mass spectrometry. Therefore, a preconcentration step is required to enhance their sensitivity. This review focuses on the techniques used to separate and preconcentrate the analytes onto the μPADs, such as ion concentration polarization, isotachophoresis, and field amplification sample stacking. Other separations and preconcentration techniques, including liquid-solid and liquid-liquid extractions coupled with μPADs, are also reviewed and discussed. In addition, the fabrication methods, advantages, disadvantages, and the performance evaluation of the μPADs concerning their precision and accuracy were highlighted and critically assessed. Finally, the challenges and future perspectives have been discussed.

Biomarkers of Oxidative Stress and Antioxidant Defense

A number of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species are produced during normal metabolism in human body. These species can be both radical and non-radical and have varying degrees of reactivity. Although they have some important functions in the human body, such as contributing to signal transmission and the immune system, their presence must be balanced by the antioxidant defense system. The human body has an excellent intrinsic enzymatic antioxidant system in addition to different non-enzymatic antioxidants having small molecular masses. An extrinsic source of antioxidants are foodstuffs such as fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices, mostly rich in polyphenols. When the delicate biochemical balance between oxidants and antioxidants is disturbed in favor of oxidants, "oxidative stress" conditions emerge, under which reactive species can cause oxidative damage to biomacromolecules such as proteins, carbohydrates, lipids and DNA. This oxidative damage is often associated with cancer, aging, and neurodegenerative disorders. Because reactive species are extremely short-lived, it is almost impossible to measure their concentrations directly. Although there are certain methods such as ESR / EPR that serve this purpose, they have some disadvantages and are quite costly systems. Therefore, products generated from oxidative damage of proteins, lipids and DNA are often used to quantify the extent of oxidative damage rather than direct measurement of reactive species. These oxidative damage products are usually known as biomarkers. Determination of the concentrations of these biomarkers and changes in the concentration of protective antioxidants can provide useful information for avoiding certain diseases and keep healthy conditions.

Magnetite nanoparticles-based hydroxyl radical scavenging activity assay of antioxidants using N, N-dimethyl-p-phenylenediamine probe

Excessive amounts of reactive oxygen species (ROS), unless counterbalanced by antioxidants, can cause cellular damage under oxidative stress conditions; therefore, antioxidative defenses against ROS must be measured. With the development of nanotechnology, nanoparticles have found numerous applications in science, health, and industries. Magnetite nanoparticles (Fe ₃ O ₄ :MNPs) have attracted attention because of their peroxidase-like activity. In this study, hydroxyl radicals (•OH) generated by MNPs-catalyzed degradation of H ₂ O ₂ converted the N,N-dimethyl-p-phenylenediamine (DMPD) probe into its colored DMPD•+ radical cation, which gave an absorbance maximum at λ = 553 nm. In the presence of antioxidants, •OH was partly scavenged by antioxidants and produced less DMPD• ⁺ , causing a decrease in the 553 nm-absorbance. Antioxidant concentrations were calculated with the aid of absorbance differences between the reference and sample solutions. The linear working ranges and trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity coefficients of different classes of antioxidants were determined by applying the developed method. In addition, binary and ternary mixtures of antioxidants were tested to observe the additivity of absorbances of mixture constituents. The method was applied to real samples such as orange juice and green tea. Student t-test, F tests, and the Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient were used for statistical comparisons.

Colorimetric sensors and nanoprobes for characterizing antioxidant and energetic substances

The development of analytical techniques for antioxidant compounds is important, because antioxidants that can inactivate reactive species and radicals are health-beneficial compounds, also used in the preservation of food and protection of almost every kind of organic substance from oxidation. Energetic substances include explosives, pyrotechnics, propellants and fuels, and their determination at bulk/trace levels is important for the safety and well-being of modern societies exposed to various security threats. Most of the time, in field/on site detection of these important analytes necessitates the use of colorimetric sensors and probes enabling naked-eye detection, or low-cost and easy-to-use fluorometric sensors. The use of nanosensors brings important advantages to this field of analytical chemistry due to their various physico-chemical advantages of increased surface area, surface plasmon resonance absorption of noble metal nanoparticles, and superior enzyme-mimic catalytic properties. Thus, this critical review focuses on the design strategies for colorimetric sensors and nanoprobes in characterizing antioxidant and energetic substances. In this regard, the main themes and properties in optical sensor design are defined and classified. Nanomaterial-based optical sensors/probes are discussed with respect to their mechanisms of operation, namely formation and growth of noble metal nanoparticles, their aggregation and disaggregation, displacement of active constituents by complexation or electrostatic interaction, miscellaneous mechanisms, and the choice of metallic oxide nanoparticles taking part in such formulations.

A Brief Overview on Antioxidant Activity Determination of Silver Nanoparticles

Our objective in this review article is to find out relevant information about methods of determination of antioxidant activity of silver nanoparticles. There are many studies dealing with mentioned problem and herein we summarize the knowledge about methods evaluating the antioxidant activity of silver nanoparticles reported so far. Many authors declare better antioxidant activity of silver nanoparticles compared to the extract used for synthesis of them. In this review, we focused on methods of antioxidant activity determination in detail to find out novel and perspective techniques to solve the general problems associated with the determination of antioxidant activity of silver nanoparticles.

Defining a standardized methodology for the determination of the antioxidant capacity: case study of Pistacia atlantica leaves

Antioxidant activity can be measured by a variety of methods, that include hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) and single electron transfer (ET) methods.

Current Issues in Antioxidant Measurement

The rationale and scope of the main issues of antioxidant measurement are presented, with basic definitions and terms in antioxidant research (such as reactive species and related antioxidative defenses, oxidative stress, and antioxidant activity and capacity) in a historical background. An overview of technical problems and expectations is given in terms of interpretation of results, precision and comparability of methods, capability of simulating physical reality, and analytical performance (sensitivity, selectivity, etc.). Current analytical methods for measuring antioxidant and antiradical activity are classified from various viewpoints. Reaction kinetics and thermodynamics of current analytical methods are discussed, describing physicochemical aspects of antioxidant action and measurement. Controversies and limitations of the widely used antioxidant assays are elaborated in detail. Emerging techniques in antioxidant testing (e.g., nanotechnology, sensors, electrochemistry, chemometry, and hyphenated methods) are broadly introduced. Finally, hints for the selection of suitable assays (i.e., preferable for a specific purpose) and future prospects are given.

Use of modified CUPRAC and dinitrophenylhydrazine colorimetric methods for simultaneous measurement of oxidative protein damage and antioxidant defense against oxidation

A modified CUPRAC (cupric reducing antioxidant capacity) method was developed for the simultaneous estimation of protein oxidation and counteracting antioxidant defense, and the results were compared with those of a modified 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH) carbonyl assay. The alkaline carbonyl method was cleared off interferences by solvent extraction using a cationic surfactant. Both solution and Nafion membrane sensor CUPRAC methods were used to measure the oxidative hazard in protein solutions. Bovine serum albumin, fetal bovine serum and egg white were used as protein probes, exposed to oxidation by Fe(II)-induced Fenton reaction in the absence and presence of selected antioxidants (ascorbic acid, cysteine, gallic acid, glutathione, and N-acetyl cysteine). Protein probes were initially unreactive toward the CUPRAC and DNPH reagents, but produced colored products upon Fenton oxidation which were bleached by antioxidants, enabling an indirect measurement of antioxidant activity (AOA) by difference. Spearman's rank test for antioxidants demonstrated that there was a strong correlation (+0.7 to +0.9) between the modified CUPRAC and carbonyl assays. There was also a strong correlation between the results of the solution phase and optical sensing CUPRAC methods (R² > 0.95). As opposed to conventional antioxidant assays not using biologically relevant probes, this work utilizes protein probes for AOA assessment.

Antioxidant Phytochemicals in Fresh Produce: Exploitation of Genotype Variation and Advancements in Analytical Protocols

Horticultural commodities (fruit and vegetables) are the major dietary source of several bioactive compounds of high nutraceutical value for humans, including polyphenols, carotenoids and vitamins. The aim of the current review was dual. Firstly, toward the eventual enhancement of horticultural crops with bio-functional compounds, the natural genetic variation in antioxidants found in different species and cultivars/genotypes is underlined. Notably, some landraces and/or traditional cultivars have been characterized by substantially higher phytochemical content, i.e., small tomato of Santorini island (cv. "Tomataki Santorinis") possesses appreciably high amounts of ascorbic acid (AsA). The systematic screening of key bioactive compounds in a wide range of germplasm for the identification of promising genotypes and the restoration of key gene fractions from wild species and landraces may help in reducing the loss of agro-biodiversity, creating a healthier "gene pool" as the basis of future adaptation. Toward this direction, large scale comparative studies in different cultivars/genotypes of a given species provide useful insights about the ones of higher nutritional value. Secondly, the advancements in the employment of analytical techniques to determine the antioxidant potential through a convenient, easy and fast way are outlined. Such analytical techniques include electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and infrared (IR) spectroscopy, electrochemical, and chemometric methods, flow injection analysis (FIA), optical sensors, and high resolution screening (HRS). Taking into consideration that fruits and vegetables are complex mixtures of water- and lipid-soluble antioxidants, the exploitation of chemometrics to develop "omics" platforms (i.e., metabolomics, foodomics) is a promising tool for researchers to decode and/or predict antioxidant activity of fresh produce. For industry, the use of optical sensors and IR spectroscopy is recommended to estimate the antioxidant activity rapidly and at low cost, although legislation does not allow its correlation with health claims.

Novel Spectroscopic and Electrochemical Sensors and Nanoprobes for the Characterization of Food and Biological Antioxidants

Since an unbalanced excess of reactive oxygen/nitrogen species (ROS/RNS) causes various diseases, determination of antioxidants that can counter oxidative stress is important in food and biological analyses. Optical/electrochemical nanosensors have attracted attention in antioxidant activity (AOA) assessment because of their increased sensitivity and selectivity. Optical sensors offer advantages such as low cost, flexibility, remote control, speed, miniaturization and on-site/in situ analysis. Electrochemical sensors using noble metal nanoparticles on modified electrodes better catalyze bioelectrochemical reactions. We summarize the design principles of colorimetric sensors and nanoprobes for food antioxidants (including electron-transfer based and ROS/RNS scavenging assays) and important milestones contributed by our laboratory. We present novel sensors and nanoprobes together with their mechanisms and analytical performances. Our colorimetric sensors for AOA measurement made use of cupric-neocuproine and ferric-phenanthroline complexes immobilized on a Nafion membrane. We recently designed an optical oxidant/antioxidant sensor using N,N-dimethyl-p-phenylene diamine (DMPD) as probe, from which ROS produced colored DMPD-quinone cationic radicals electrostatically retained on a Nafion membrane. The attenuation of initial color by antioxidants enabled indirect AOA estimation. The surface plasmon resonance absorption of silver nanoparticles as a result of enlargement of citrate-reduced seed particles by antioxidant addition enabled a linear response of AOA. We determined biothiols with Ellman reagent-derivatized gold nanoparticles.

Antioxidant Activity/Capacity Measurement. 2. Hydrogen Atom Transfer (HAT)-Based, Mixed-Mode (Electron Transfer (ET)/HAT), and Lipid Peroxidation Assays

Measuring the antioxidant activity/capacity levels of food extracts and biological fluids is useful for determining the nutritional value of foodstuffs and for the diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of numerous oxidative stress-related diseases. Biologically, antioxidants play their health-beneficial roles via transferring a hydrogen (H) atom or an electron (e(-)) to reactive species, thereby deactivating them. Antioxidant activity assays imitate this action; that is, antioxidants are measured by their H atom transfer (HAT) or e(-) transfer (ET) to probe molecules. Antioxidant activity/capacity can be monitored by a wide variety of assays with different mechanisms, including HAT, ET, and mixed-mode (ET/HAT) assays, generally without distinct boundaries between them. Understanding the principal mechanisms, advantages, and disadvantages of the measurement assays is important for proper selection of method for valid evaluation of antioxidant properties in desired applications. This work provides a general and up-to-date overview of HAT-based, mixed-mode (ET/HAT), and lipid peroxidation assays available for measuring antioxidant activity/capacity and the chemistry behind them, including a critical evaluation of their advantages and drawbacks.

Antioxidant Activity/Capacity Measurement. 1. Classification, Physicochemical Principles, Mechanisms, and Electron Transfer (ET)-Based Assays

Because there is no widely adopted "total antioxidant parameter" as a nutritional index for labeling food and biological fluids, it is desirable to establish and standardize methods that can measure the total antioxidant capacity (TAC) level directly from plant-based food extracts and biological fluids. In this review, we (i) present and classify the widely used analytical approaches (e.g., in vitro and in vivo, enzymatic and nonenzymatic, electron transfer (ET)- and hydrogen atom transfer (HAT)-based, direct and indirect assays) for evaluating antioxidant capacity/activity; (ii) discuss total antioxidant capacity/activity assays in terms of chemical kinetics and thermodynamics, reaction mechanisms, and analytical performance characteristics, together with advantages and drawbacks; and (iii) critically evaluate ET-based methods for analytical, food chemical, biomedical/clinical, and environmental scientific communities so that they can effectively use these assays in the correct places to meet their needs.