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Electron Spin Resonance Micro-imaging of Live Species for Oxygen Mapping
Published on: August 26, 2010
Subcellular, time-resolved studies of singlet oxygen in single cells
John W Snyder1, Esben Skovsen, John D C Lambert
1Department of Chemistry, University of Aarhus, DK-8000 Aarhus, Denmark.
Journal of the American Chemical Society
|October 20, 2005
Summary
Singlet oxygen, a reactive species, lasts much longer in nerve cells than previously thought. Its deactivation is primarily influenced by the solvent, not cellular components, impacting studies on cell death and signaling.
Area of Science:
- Biophysics
- Cellular Biology
- Photochemistry
Background:
- Singlet molecular oxygen (O2(a1Δg)) plays a role in cellular processes.
- Understanding its lifetime and deactivation pathways in cells is crucial for mechanistic studies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the lifetime of singlet molecular oxygen within a single nerve cell.
- To investigate the primary deactivation mechanisms of singlet oxygen in the cellular environment.
Main Methods:
- Time-resolved and spatially resolved experiments were conducted.
- Singlet oxygen was generated in nerve cells using a photosensitizer and a focused laser beam.
- Infrared phosphorescence was used to detect singlet oxygen.
Main Results:
- Singlet molecular oxygen exhibited a significantly longer lifetime (1-2 orders of magnitude) in both the cytoplasm and nucleus than previously reported.
- Deactivation of singlet oxygen was found to be dominated by solvent interactions, rather than cellular constituents like proteins.
Conclusions:
- The extended lifetime of singlet oxygen in nerve cells has implications for its biological roles.
- Solvent interactions are the key factor in singlet oxygen deactivation within cells, not intracellular biomolecules.
- These findings offer a new perspective on the involvement of singlet oxygen in photoinduced cell death and intracellular signaling pathways.
