High-throughput spectrophotometric assay of reactive oxygen species in serum

The derivatives of reactive oxygen metabolites (D-ROM) test has been developed to determine the amount of oxygen-centered free radicals in a blood sample as a marker of oxidative stress. This study aims to improve the D-ROM test and develop an automated assay system by use of a clinical chemistry analyzer. Five microliters of serum was added to 1 well of a 96-well microtiter plate for a total 240microl of reaction solution containing alkylamine and metals. This was followed by automatic mixing, incubation and measurement of reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels as a color development at 505nm using a spectrophotometer with catalytic capability for transition metals. This assay system was used to measure serum levels of ROS in cigarette smokers and never-smokers, by way of example. The levels of serum ROS determined by this system correlate with the amounts of free radicals and peroxides, which reacted with various molecules in the body and formed stable metabolites. This test can use frozen sera as well as fresh ones. The inter- and intra-deviation of this system was within 5% and showed consistent linearity in the range between 4 and 500mg/l of hydrogen peroxides. Serum ROS levels among smokers increased with the number of cigarettes smoked per day (36.5% increment per pack per day; P<0.0001). This assay system will be a simple, inexpensive, and reliable tool for assessing oxidative stress in human populations. Our preliminary results on cigarette smoking imply that this assay system has potential for application in various epidemiological and clinical settings.