Fluorescent Probes for Ozone Detection

5 July 2009

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have developed a fluorescent molecular probe that can selectively detect ozone—in preference to other reactive oxygen species—in both atmospheric and biological samples.

Ground-level ozone exposure is a growing global health problem, especially in urban areas. Ground-level ozone is toxic and can damage the respiratory tract. In addition to environmental concerns about ozone, there is some debate regarding its role in biological systems.

The fluorescent molecular probes developed by Dr. Kazunori Koide and his team are able to unambiguously detect ozone in both biological and atmospheric samples.

Unlike other ozone-detection methods, in which interference from different reactive oxygen species is often a problem, these probes are ozone-specific. The researchers suggest that such probes will prove useful for the study of ozone in environmental science and biology, and so possibly provide some insight into the role of ozone in cells.

Resources

• Amanda L. Garner, Claudette M. St Croix, Bruce R. Pitt, George D. Leikauf, Shin Ando & Kazunori Koide (2009) Specific fluorogenic probes for ozone in biological and atmospheric samples. Nature Chemistry 1 (4) pp 316 - 321 doi: 10.1038/nchem.240