Controlled potential electro-oxidation of genomic DNA

Exposure of mammalian cells to oxidative stress can result in DNA damage that adversely affects many cell processes. Lack of dependable DNA damage reference materials and standardized measurement methods, despite many case-control studies hampers the wider recognition of the link between oxidatively degraded DNA and disease risk. We used bulk electrolysis in an electrochemical system and gas chromatographic mass spectrometric analysis (GC/MS/MS) to control and measure, respectively, the effect of electrochemically produced reactive oxygen species on calf thymus DNA (ct-DNA). DNA was electro-oxidized for 1 h at four fixed oxidizing potentials (E = 0.5 V, 1.0 V, 1.5 V and 2 V (vs Ag/AgCl)) using a high surface area boron-doped diamond (BDD) working electrode (WE) and the resulting DNA damage in the form of oxidatively-modified DNA lesions was measured using GC/MS/MS. We have shown that there are two distinct base lesion formation modes in the explored electrode potential range, corresponding to 0.5 V < E < 1.5 V and E > 1.5 V. Amounts of all four purine lesions were close to a negative control levels up to E = 1.5 V with evidence suggesting higher levels at the lowest potential of this range (E = 0.5 V). A rapid increase in all base lesion yields was measured when ct-DNA was exposed at E = 2 V, the potential at which hydroxyl radicals were efficiently produced by the BDD electrode. The present results demonstrate that controlled potential preparative electrooxidation of double-stranded DNA can be used to purposely increase the levels of oxidatively modified DNA lesions in discrete samples. It is envisioned that these DNA samples may potentially serve as analytical control or quality assurance reference materials for the determination of oxidatively induced DNA damage.

A carbon ion beam irradiated MWCNT/AuNPs composite sensor for a sensitive assay of purine-nucleosides of DNA

Sensor for purine nucleosides has been developed using irradiation with high energy carbon ion beam.

Online monitoring oxidative products and metabolites of nicotine by free radicals generation with Fenton reaction in tandem mass spectrometry

In general, over 70% absorbed nicotine is metabolized to cotinine and trans-3′-hydroxycotinine by cytochrome oxidase P450, and nicotine is also a major addictive and the psychoactive component in cigarettes. As a xenobiotic metabolism, hydrophobic compounds are usually converted into more hydrophilic products through enzyme systems such as cytochrome oxidase P450, sulfotransferases, and UDP-glucuronosyltransferases to deliver drug metabolites out of the cell during the drug metabolic process. In this study, an electrodeless electrochemical oxidation (EEO) reaction via Fenton reaction by producing free radical to react with nicotine to immediately monitor the oxidative products and metabolic derivatives of nicotine by tandem mass spectrometer (MS) is done. Fenton reaction generates free radicals via ferrous ion (Fe²⁺) and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) to oxidize DNA and to degrade proteins in cells. In the EEO method, the oxidative products of nicotine including cotinine, cotinine-N-oxide, trans-3′-hydroxycotinine, nornicotine, norcotinine, 4-oxo-4-(3-pyridyl)-butanoic acid, 4-hydroxy-4-(3-pyridyl)-butanoic acid, and nicotine-N′-oxide were detected by tandem mass spectrometer to simulate the changes of nicotine and its derivatives in a time-dependent manner.

An optimized electrochemistry-liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry method for studying guanosine oxidation

Oxidative stress can disrupt the integrity of genetic material. Due to its importance in the pathogenesis of different kinds of disease, including neurodegenerative disease, cardiovascular disease and cancer, major efforts are put into the elucidation of mechanisms involved. Herein, the combination of electrochemistry/liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (EC/LC/MS) is presented as convenient, fast and simple method to study nucleic acids oxidation. Guanosine was selected as test compound. 8-Hydroxyguanosine and (guanosine-H)₂ were identified as primary oxidation products. Oxidation was accomplished in an electrochemical thin-layer cell integrated in the flow path of the autosampler of the chromatographic system. The reaction mixture was separated and mass analyzed by LC/MS. The use of LC was found to be particularly beneficial to resolve isobaric oxidation products. Another advantage of the setup used was the ability to decouple the electrochemical cell and the electrospray ionization source from each other eliminating any kind of cell potential interaction. Separation of EC from LC/MS, furthermore, facilitates method optimization. Experimental parameters were optimized for both techniques independently. Highest yields and best detectability of oxidation products were obtained with 10 mM ammonium formate at physiological pH delivered at a flow rate of 2.5-5 μL/min through the electrochemical cell.

Electrochemical simulation of oxidation processes involving nucleic acids monitored with electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry

Oxidation is commonly involved in the alteration of nucleic acids giving rise to diverse effects including mutation, cell death, malignancy, and aging. We demonstrate that electrochemistry represents an efficient and fast method to mimic oxidative modification of nucleic acids occurring in biological systems. Oxidation reactions were performed in a thin-layer cell employing a conductive diamond electrode as the working electrode and were monitored with electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry. Mass voltammograms were acquired for guanosine, adenosine, cytidine, and uridine. The observed oxidation potentials increased in the order guanosine << adenosine < cytidine < uridine. Oxidation products of guanosine were characterized using high-resolution (tandem) mass spectrometry performed with a quadrupole-quadrupole time-of-flight instrument. On the basis of these experiments, it was concluded that the initial electrode reaction involves a one-electron, one-proton step to give a free radical. The primary oxidation product represents the starting point for a number of follow-up reactions, including guanosine dimerization as well as further oxidation to 8-hydroxyguanosine. Similar results were obtained for guanosine monophosphate and the corresponding dinucleotide. Furthermore, the guanosine radical was identified as an important intermediate for the formation of a covalent adduct with acetaminophen. This observation sheds new light on the mechanism of adduct formation as it demonstrates that oxidative activation of both the nucleobase and the adduct-forming agent is necessary to observe a detectable amount of adduct species.

Oxidation chemistry of 2′-deoxyadenosine at pyrolytic graphite electrode

The electrochemical oxidation of 2'-deoxyadenosine has been investigated in phosphate containing supporting electrolytes in pH range 2-10 at a pyrolytic graphite electrode by cyclic sweep voltammetry, spectral studies, controlled potential electrolysis and related techniques. The oxidation of 2'-deoxyadenosine occurred in a single well-defined oxidation peak (I(a)), over the entire pH range. The electrooxidation occurred by the loss of 6.0+/-0.5 e(-) per mole over the entire pH range. The kinetics of the decay of the UV-absorbing intermediates has been studied and found to follow pseudo first order kinetics having rate constant (k) in the range (5.7-7.7)x10(-4) s(-1). The major products of electrooxidation were separated by HPLC and characterized by GC-MS/MS, (1)H NMR and a tentative mechanism for electrooxidation of 2'-deoxyadenosine has been suggested.