Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 10, 2026

Analytical Techniques for Assaying Nitric Oxide Bioactivity
Published on: June 18, 2012
Demystified. Nitric oxide
1Department of Anaesthesia, Birmingham Heartlands Hospital, Bordesley Green East, Birmingham B9 5SS, UK. stuartk@heartsol.wmids.nhs.uk
Abstract:
The discovery of nitric oxide (NO) demonstrated that cells could communicate via the manufacture and local diffusion of an unstable lipid soluble molecule. Since the original demonstration of the vascular relaxant properties of endothelium derived NO, this fascinating molecule has been shown to have multiple, complex roles within many biological systems. This review cannot hope to cover all of the recent advances in NO biology, but seeks to place the discovery of NO in its historical context, and show how far our understanding has come in the past 20 years. The role of NO in mitochondrial respiration, and consequently in oxidative stress, is described in detail because these processes probably underline the importance of NO in the development of disease.
Related Concept Videos
Overview of Nitrogen Metabolism
The largest pool of nitrogen available in the terrestrial ecosystem is gaseous nitrogen (N2) from the air, but this nitrogen...
1° Amines to Diazonium or Aryldiazonium Salts: Diazotization with NaNO2 Overview
The nitrous acid is unstable. Hence, it is formed in situ from a solution of sodium nitrite and cold aqueous acids such as hydrochloric or sulfuric acid. In an acidic solution, the –OH group of nitrous acid undergoes protonation to give oxonium ion, followed by water loss...
2° Amines to N-Nitrosamines: Reaction with NaNO2
1° Amines to Diazonium or Aryldiazonium Salts: Diazotization with NaNO2 Mechanism
Nitrosation of Enols
Nitric Oxide Signaling Pathway

