Qiu Tian

Potential Oxidative Stress of Gold Nanoparticles by Induced-NO Releasing in Serum

Nitric oxide (NO)-release in blood serum initiated by gold nanoparticles has been prove to be a reaction between RSNO and the gold nanoparitcles. In this reaction the NO production was catalyzed on the surface of the nanoparticles, and a new bond of Au-thiolate was simultaneously formed.

Superoxide, Hydrogen Peroxide and Hydroxyl Radical in D1/D2/cytochrome b-559 Photosystem II Reaction Center Complex.

Spin-trapping electron spin resonance (ESR) was used to monitor the formation of superoxide and hydroxyl radicals in D1/D2/cytochrome b-559 Photosystem II reaction center (PS II RC) Complex. When the PS II RC complex was strongly illuminated, superoxide was detected in the presence of ubiquinone. SOD activity was detected in the PS II RC complex. A primary product of superoxide, hydrogen peroxide, resulted in the production of the most destructive reactive oxygen species, •OH, in illuminated PS II RC complex. The contributions of ubiquinone, SOD and H2O2 to the photobleaching of pigments and protein photodamage in the PS II RC complex were further studied. Ubiquinone protected the PS II RC complex from photodamage and, interestingly, extrinsic SOD promoted this damage. All these results suggest that PS II RC is an active site for the generation of superoxide and its derivatives, and this process protects organisms during strong illumination, probably by inhibiting more harmful ROS, such as singlet oxygen.

Protecting effect of phosphorylation on oxidative damage of D1 protein by down-regulating the production of superoxide anion in photosystem II membranes under high light

The physiological significance of photosystem II (PSII) core protein phosphorylation has been suggested to facilitate the migration of oxidative damaged D1 and D2 proteins, but meanwhile the phosphorylation seems to be associated with the suppression of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and it also relates to the degradation of PSII reaction center proteins. To more clearly elucidate the possible protecting effect of the phosphorylation on oxidative damage of D1 protein, the degradation of oxidized D1 protein and the production of superoxide anion in the non-phosphorylated and phosphorylated PSII membranes were comparatively detected using the Western blotting and electron spin resonance spin-trapping technique, respectively. Obviously, all of three ROS components, including superoxide anion, hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl radical are responsible for the degradation of oxidized D1 protein, and the protection of the D1 protein degradation by phosphorylation is accompanied by the inhibition of superoxide anion production. Furthermore, the inhibiting effect of 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea (DCMU), a competitor to QB, on superoxide anion production and its protecting effect on D1 protein degradation are even more obvious than those of phosphorylation. Both DCMU effects are independent of whether PSII membranes are phosphorylated or not, which reasonably implies that the herbicide DCMU and D1 protein phosphorylation probably share the same target site in D1 protein of PSII. So, altogether it can be concluded that the phosphorylation of D1 protein reduces the oxidative damage of D1 protein by decreasing the production of superoxide anion in PSII membranes under high light.

A novel spin trap for targeting sulfhydryl-containing polypeptides

A novel spin trap containing an iodoacetamide group has been synthesized and then used to target polypeptides, i.e. glutathione and bovine serum albumin, by which the resulting covalently bonded bioconjugates exhibit great potential for the application of spin trapping of transient radicals in biological systems.

Gold nanoparticles-based catalysis for detection of S-nitrosothiols in blood serum

Accumulating evidence suggests that S-nitrosothiols (RSNOs) play key roles in human health and disease. To clarify their physiological functions and roles in diseases, it is necessary to promote some new techniques for quantifying RSNOs in blood and other biological fluids. Here, a new method using gold nanoparticle catalysts has been introduced for quantitative evaluation of RSNOs in blood serum. The assay involves degrading RSNOs using gold nanoparticles and detecting nitric oxide (NO) released with NO-selective electrodes. The approach displays very high sensitivity for RSNOs with a low detection limit in the picomolar concentration range (5.08 × 10(-11) mol L(-1), S/N=3) and is free from interference of some endogenous substances such as NO(2)(-) and NO(3)(-) co-existing in blood serum. A linear function of concentration in the range of (5.0-1000.0) × 10(-9) mol L(-1) has been observed with a correlation coefficient of 0.9976. The level of RSNOs in blood serum was successfully determined using the described method above. In addition, a dose-dependent effect of gold nanoparticles on the sensitivity for RSNOs detection is revealed, and thereby the approach is potentially useful to evaluate RSNOs levels in various biological fluids via varying gold nanoparticles concentration.

Eliminating and inhibiting hydroxylamine oxidation in DEPMPO spin trapping experiments

There exists hydroxylamine impurity in 5-(diethoxyphosphoryl)-5-methyl-l-pyrroline-l-oxide (DEPMPO) despite the purification by column separation and molecular distillation. Slow oxidation of hydroxylamine impurity to nitroxide is caused by a trace amount of transition metal ions in the solution instead by oxygen, and it can be conveniently inhibited upon the addition of diethylene-triaminepentaacetic acid, a transition metal ion chelator. Hydroxylamine impurity in DEPMPO, can also be oxidized to electron spin resonance detectable paramagnetic nitroxide in the presence of mild oxidants, such as K3Fe(CN)6 and CuSO4. The previously recommended procedure for elimination of hydroxylamines was further simplified in the present study. Both hydroxylamine and nitroxide impurities can be removed from the aqueous solution of DEPMPO, by activated charcoal treatment.

Novel Glutathione-linked Nitrones as Dual Free Radical Probes

The detection and identification of transient radicals in biological systems is of importance for the understanding of their roles in a variety of biological processes. Electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy coupled with the use of the spin trapping technique has been an indispensable tool for this application owing to its high specificity. In this study, we developed a general method using dual function free radical probes (GS-PBN and its phosphorylated analogue GS-PPN) for the simultaneous determination of transient radicals and the microenvironment where the corresponding spin adducts are situated. This conception was initially proved by high spectral sensitivity of the p-ClPh˙ spin adduct of GS-PBN towards its rotational motion in the glycerol–water system. Results showed that a relatively bulky glutathionyl group in the spin adduct plays an important role in its high sensitivity to the molecular motion. This was further verified by high sensitivity of the p-ClPh˙ spin adduct of the newly synthesized probe GS-PPN to its molecular motion. Unlike GS-PBN, GS-PPN can be used to detect O2˙− generated in the enzymatic system and PSII membranes of chloroplasts. Based on the relationship between the τC values of the superoxide spin adduct and the medium viscosity, the local environment of the adduct in the PSII membranes was determined to be similar to that of the aqueous solution containing ∼15% glycerol (η ≈ 1.33 p).

Effect of 2, 5-Substituents on the Stability of Cyclic Nitrone Superoxide Spin Adducts: A Density Functional Theory Approach

Abstract In the present study, five cyclic nitrone superoxide spin adducts, i.e. DMPO-OOH, M3PO-OOH, EMPO-OOH, DEPMPO-OOH and DEPDMPO-OOH, were chosen as model compounds to investigate the effect of 2,5-subsitituents on their stability, through structural analysis and decay thermodynamics using density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Analysis of the optimized geometries reveals that none of the previously proposed stabilizing factors, including intramolecular H-bonds, intramolecular non-bonding interactions, bulky steric protection nor the C(2)–N(1) bond distance can be used to clearly explain the effect of 2,5-substituents on the stability of the spin adducts. Subsequent study found that spin densities on the nitroxyl nitrogen and oxygen are well correlated with the half-lives of the spin adducts and consequently are the proper parameters to characterize the effect of 2,5-substituents on their stability. Examination of the decomposition thermodynamics further supports the effect of the substituents on the persistence of cyclic nitrone superoxide spin adducts.