Post-trapping derivatization of radical-derived EPR-silent adducts: application to free radical detection by HPLC/UV in chemical, biochemical, and biological systems and comparison with EPR spectroscopy

A photo-degradable BODIPY-modified Ru(II) photosensitizer for safe and efficient PDT under both normoxic and hypoxic conditions

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is promising for cancer treatment but still suffers from some limitations. For instance, PDT based on 1O2 generation (in a type-II mechanism) is heavily dependent on high oxygen concentrations and will be significantly depressed in hypoxic tumors. In addition, the residual photosensitizers after PDT treatment may cause severe side-effects under light irradiation. To solve these problems, herein a BODIPY (boron dipyrromethene)-modified Ru(II) complex [Ru(dip)2(tpy-BODIPY)]2+ (complex 1, dip = 4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline, tpy = 2,2':6',2''-terpyridine) was designed and synthesized. Complex 1 exhibited both high singlet oxygen quantum yield (Φ = 0.7 in CH3CN) and excellent superoxide radical (O2˙-) generation, and thus demonstrated efficient PDT activity under both normoxic and hypoxic conditions. Moreover, complex 1 is photo-degradable in water, and greatly loses its ROS generation ability after PDT treatment. These novel properties of complex 1 make it promising for efficient PDT under both normoxic and hypoxic conditions with reduced side-effects.

Ratiometric electrochemical determination of hydroxyl radical based on graphite paper modified with metal-organic frameworks and impregnated with salicylic acid

Hydroxyl radical (•OH) detection is pivotal in medicine, biochemistry and environmental chemistry. Yet, electrochemical method-specific detection is challenging because of hydroxyl radicals' high reactivity and short half-life. In this study, we aimed to modify the electrode surface with a specific recognition probe for •OH. To achieve this, we conducted a one-step hydrothermal process to fabricate a CoZnMOF bimetallic organic framework directly onto conductive graphite paper (Gp). Subsequently, we introduced salicylic acid (SA) and methylene blue (MB), which easily penetrated the pores of CoZnMOF. By selectively capturing •OH by SA and leveraging the electrochemical signal generated by the reaction product, we successfully developed an electrochemical sensor Gp/CoZnMOF/SA + MB. The prepared sensor exhibited a good linear relationship with •OH concentrations ranging from 1.25 to 1200 nM, with a detection limit of 0.2 nM. Additionally, the sensor demonstrated excellent reproducibility and accuracy due to the incorporation of an internal reference. It exhibited remarkable selectivity for •OH detection, unaffected by other electrochemically active substances. The establishment of this sensor provides a way to construct MOF-modified sensors for the selective detection of other reactive oxygen species (ROS), offering a valuable experimental basis for ROS-related disease research and environmental safety investigations.

Self-Assembly Induced Photosensitization of Long-Tailed Heavy-Atom-Free BODIPY Derivatives for Photodynamic Therapy

Type I photosensitizers (PSs) are a promising approach for photodynamic therapy (PDT) since they can generate radicals that are tolerant to hypoxia. Thus, the development of highly efficient type I PSs is essential. Self-assembly is a promising strategy for developing novel PSs with desirable properties. Here, a simple and effective approach is developed to create heavy-atom-free PSs for PDT by self-assembling long-tailed boron dipyrromethene dyes (BODIPYs). The resulting aggregates BY-I16 and BY-I18 can efficiently convert their excited energy to the triplet state, producing reactive oxygen species that are essential for PDT. Furthermore, the aggregation and PDT performance can be regulated by adjusting the length of the tailed alkyl chains. As proof of concept, the efficacy of these heavy-atom-free PSs both in vitro and in vivo under both normoxic and hypoxic conditions is demonstrated.

Rational Design of Conducting Polymer-Derived Tubular Carbon Nanoreactors for Enhanced Enzyme-like Catalysis and Total Antioxidant Capacity Bioassay Application

The design of void-confined tubular nanostructures has aroused significant interest for catalytic applications because of their distinct microenvironment to modulate the reaction kinetics. Herein, we propose a facile wrapping-pyrolysis strategy to confine Fe⁰ nanoparticles (Fe NPs) inside N-doped carbon nanotubes (Fe@NC NTs) derived from Fe₂O₃@polypyrrole (PPy) core-sheath nanofibers (NFs). The resultant Fe@NC NTs can act as efficient enzyme mimics and exhibit a significantly higher peroxidase (POD)-like catalytic activity than unconfined Fe NPs and bare NC NTs. Kinetic experiments demonstrate that the optimized void structure benefits the affinity with the POD substrates and achieves excellent catalytic efficiency. The mechanism study reveals that the generation of ^•OH from H₂O₂ endows Fe@NC NTs with excellent POD-like performance. Furthermore, we develop a total antioxidant capacity (TAC) sensing platform on account of this efficient POD-like system, expanding their applications in the field of food safety and human healthcare.

Atomic-level insight into effect of substrate concentration and relative humidity on photocatalytic degradation mechanism of gaseous styrene

Substrate concentration and relative humidity (RH) impact the photocatalytic efficiency of industrial aromatic hydrocarbons, but how they influence intermediate formation and degradation pathway remains unclear. With the help of oxygen isotope tracing method, the effects of these two environmental parameters on degradation mechanism of styrene were revealed at atomic level. Increasing styrene concentration favored product formation, which was however inhibited by RH elevation. Gaseous products were not directly formed in gaseous phase, but originated from desorption of interfacial intermediates. The volatile aldehydes and furans further exchanged their ¹⁶O with ¹⁸O in H₂¹⁸O. Increase of RH showed higher enhancement on ¹⁸O distribution in all products and pathways than that of substrate concentration. Low RH preferred high generation of ¹⁶O₂^•- and ⁽¹⁶⁾¹O₂, dominating reaction to form 1-phenyl-1,2-ethandiol, 2-hydroxy-1-phenyl-ethanon and phenylglyoxal monohydrate in sequence. Successive production of benzyl alcohol, benzaldehyde and benzoic acid through the reaction of styrene with promoted ^•18OH by increasing RH became predominant. Hydration was firstly observed and confirmed as an important gaseous transformation step of aldehyde and furan products. Our findings provide a deep insight into photocatalytic degradation mechanism of aromatic hydrocarbons regulated by environmental parameters to further improve their industrial purification efficiency, and are helpful predicting environmental geochemistry fate of organics and preventing their negative impact on natural environment.

Detection of Hydroxyl Radicals Using Cerium Oxide/Graphene Oxide Composite on Prussian Blue

A composite sensor consisting of two separate inorganic layers of Prussian blue (PB) and a composite of cerium oxide nanoparticles (CeNPs) and graphene oxide (GO), is tested with •OH radicals. The signals from the interaction between the composite layers and •OH radicals are characterized using cyclic voltammetry (CV). The degradation of PB in the presence of H₂O₂ and •OH radicals is observed and its impact on the sensor efficiency is investigated. The results show that the composite sensor differentiates between the solutions with and without •OH radicals by the increase of electrochemical redox current in the presence of •OH radicals. The redox response shows a linear relation with the concentration of •OH radicals where the limit of detection, LOD, is found at 60 µM (100 µM without the PB layer). When additional composite layers are applied on the composite sensor to prevent the degradation of PB layer, the PB layer is still observed to be degraded. Furthermore, the sensor conductivity is found to decrease with the additional layers of composite. Although the CeNP/GO/PB composite sensor demonstrates high sensitivity with •OH radicals at low concentrations, it can only be used once due to the degradation of PB.

Controllable deuteration of halogenated compounds by photocatalytic D2O splitting

Deuterium labeling is of great value in organic synthesis and the pharmaceutical industry. However, the state-of-the-art C–H/C–D exchange using noble metal catalysts or strong bases/acids suffers from poor functional group tolerances, poor selectivity and lack of scope for generating molecular complexity. Herein, we demonstrate the deuteration of halides using heavy water as the deuteration reagent and porous CdSe nanosheets as the catalyst. The deuteration mechanism involves the generation of highly active carbon and deuterium radicals via photoinduced electron transfer from CdSe to the substrates, followed by tandem radicals coupling process, which is mechanistically distinct from the traditional methods involving deuterium cations or anions. Our deuteration strategy shows better selectivity and functional group tolerances than current C–H/C–D exchange methods. Extending the synthetic scope, deuterated boronic acids, halides, alkynes, and aldehydes can be used as synthons in Suzuki coupling, Click reaction, C–H bond insertion reaction etc. for the synthesis of complex deuterated molecules.

Developing convenient deuterium labeling procedures is important in organic synthesis and the pharmaceutical industry. Here, the authors report a mild photocatalytic strategy for controllable deuteration of halides using D₂O as the reagent and porous CdSe nanosheets as the catalyst.

Graphite particles induce ROS formation in cell free systems and human cells

It is commonly accepted that the toxicity of carbonaceous particulate matter (PM) is due to the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) which induce biological damage in the exposed cells. It is also known that PM produced during the combustion processes consists of a carbonaceous core "dressed" with other organic and/or inorganic materials. In spite of this knowledge, the role of these materials in the production of ROS has not yet been clear. This work aims at understanding whether "naked" carbonaceous particles are capable of forming ROS either in cell-free or in-cell systems. The problem has been treated based on the data collected from pure graphite samples of different sizes obtained by ball-milling pure graphite for various lengths of time. The experimental approach considered Raman, ESR (spin trapping), cell viability and fluorescence spectroscopy measurements. These techniques allowed us to carry out measurements both in cell and cell-free systems and the results consistently indicate that also pure naked carbonaceous particles can catalyze the electron transfer that produces superoxide ions. The process depends on the particle size and enlightens the role of the edges of the graphitic platelets. Evidence has been collected that even "naked" graphitic nanoparticles are capable of producing ROS and decreasing the cell viability thus representing a potential danger to human health.

Dual-emissive fluorescence measurements of hydroxyl radicals using a coumarin-activated silica nanohybrid probe

This work reports a novel dual-emissive fluorescent probe based on dye hybrid silica nanoparticles for ratiometric measurement of the hydroxyl radical (˙OH). In the probe sensing system, the blue emission of coumarin dye (coumarin-3-carboxylic acid, CCA) immobilized on the nanoparticle surface is selectively enhanced by ˙OH due to the formation of a coumarin hydroxylation product with strong fluorescence, whereas the emission of red fluorescent dye encapsulated in the silica nanoparticle is insensitive to ˙OH as a self-referencing signal, and so the probe provides a good quantitative analysis based on ratiometric fluorescence measurement with a detection limit of 1.65 μM. Moreover, the probe also shows high selectivity for ˙OH determination against metal ions, other reactive oxygen species and biological species. More importantly, it exhibits low cytotoxicity and high biocompatibility in living cells, and has been successfully used for cellular imaging of ˙OH, showing its promising application for monitoring of intracellular ˙OH signaling events.

Measurement of Reactive Oxygen Species, Reactive Nitrogen Species, and Redox-Dependent Signaling in the Cardiovascular System: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association

Reactive oxygen species and reactive nitrogen species are biological molecules that play important roles in cardiovascular physiology and contribute to disease initiation, progression, and severity. Because of their ephemeral nature and rapid reactivity, these species are difficult to measure directly with high accuracy and precision. In this statement, we review current methods for measuring these species and the secondary products they generate and suggest approaches for measuring redox status, oxidative stress, and the production of individual reactive oxygen and nitrogen species. We discuss the strengths and limitations of different methods and the relative specificity and suitability of these methods for measuring the concentrations of reactive oxygen and reactive nitrogen species in cells, tissues, and biological fluids. We provide specific guidelines, through expert opinion, for choosing reliable and reproducible assays for different experimental and clinical situations. These guidelines are intended to help investigators and clinical researchers avoid experimental error and ensure high-quality measurements of these important biological species.

Singlet oxygen detection in biological systems: Uses and limitations

The study of singlet oxygen in biological systems is challenging in many ways. Singlet oxygen is a relatively unstable ephemeral molecule, and its properties make it highly reactive with many biomolecules, making it difficult to quantify accurately. Several methods have been developed to study this elusive molecule, but most studies thus far have focused on those conditions that produce relatively large amounts of singlet oxygen. However, the need for more sensitive methods is required as one begins to explore the levels of singlet oxygen required in signaling and regulatory processes. Here we discuss the various methods used in the study of singlet oxygen, and outline their uses and limitations.

Capillary electrophoretic analysis of hydroxyl radicals produced by respiring mitochondria

Here, we report the use of a capillary electrophoretic method with laser-induced fluorescence detection to evaluate hydroxyl radicals produced by respiring mitochondria. The probe, hydroxyphenylfluorescein (HPF), is separated from the product, fluorescein, in under 5 min with zeptomole and attomole limits of detection for fluorescein and HPF, respectively. Purification of the probe with a C-18 SPE column is necessary to reduce the fluorescein impurity in the probe stock solution from 0.4% to less than 0.001%. HPF was responsive to hydroxyl radicals produced by isolated mitochondria from L6 cells, and this signal was blunted when DMSO was added to scavenge hydroxyl radicals and when carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone was added to depolarize the mitochondria. The method was used to compare hydroxyl radical levels in mitochondria isolated from brown adipose tissue of lean and obese mice. Mitochondria from obese mice produced significantly more hydroxyl radicals than those from lean mice.