Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2015;22(37):4234-56.
doi: 10.2174/0929867322666151029104311.

Superoxide Anion Radical: Generation and Detection in Cellular and Non-Cellular Systems

Renan Campos Chiste  1 , Marisa Freitas, Adriana Zerlotti Mercadante, Eduarda Fernandes
Affiliations
Review

Superoxide Anion Radical: Generation and Detection in Cellular and Non-Cellular Systems

Renan Campos Chiste et al. Curr Med Chem. 2015.

Abstract

The production of superoxide anion radical (O2•(-)) is essential for the life of aerobic organisms. This free radical acts as a signaling molecule, regulating numerous biological processes including apoptosis, aging, and senescence. Nevertheless, when overproduction of O2•(-) occurs and/or antioxidant defences are deficient, oxidative stress may develop, damaging important biomolecules and altering their physiological function. These effects have been associated to the development of several diseases. Scavenging of O2•(-) has been used as a hallmark to test the antioxidant capacity of several types of compounds in cellular and non-cellular systems. However, despite the pathophysiological importance of O2•(-), the information about its endogenous and/or chemical generation and detection is dispersed and there are no reports that concisely cover the information in an integrated form. This gap can explain the limitations attributed to the currently used systems, namely in what concerns the selectivity, specificity and validation. This review attempts to provide a critical assessment of the available O2•(-) generating and detection, both in endogenous and chemical systems, scrutinizing its advantages and limitations in order to facilitate the choice and implementation of the O2•(-) generator and/or detection method that better fits the researchers' objectives.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources