Amperometric measurements of nitric oxide in erythrocytes

In the recent years, there has been an increase in the development of new biosensors that could be helpful in the study of various physiological processes. In this study, we report the development of a new in vitro experimental design for real-time nitric oxide (NO) amperometric measurements in erythrocyte suspensions. To achieve this, we employed human erythrocyte suspensions in sodium chloride 0.9%, pH 7 (haematocrit 0.05%). The production of NO by erythrocytes was measured with a commercial NO sensor during stimulation by L-arginine, acetylcholine, choline, atropine and velnacrine maleate (10 microM of final concentrations). We also measured the nitrite and nitrate concentrations produced by erythrocyte suspensions stimulated with the above effectors by means of the Griess reaction method. We observed that there was a direct relation between the electric current produced by the NO sensor, and the NO standard concentrations, thereby leading to a good calibration curve. The in vitro erythrocytes produced significant amperometric NO values in response to a wide range of effectors and these results have the same variation profile of the nitrites and nitrates results achieved with the Griess method. In conclusion, the amperometric NO sensor constitutes a reliable method for direct, and real-time measurement in vitro of the NO production of erythrocyte suspensions, As such, it offers a potential diagnostic technique for the evaluation of diseases, and the therapeutic progression of diseases, related to intracellular NO metabolism.