A new hammer in the redox toolbox: high-purity peroxynitrite for cell signaling and toxicology studies

Oxidation-reduction or redox reactions involve the transfer of electrons from one molecule or atom to another. When an atom gains an electron, another atom must lose an electron, meaning oxidation and reduction must occur together. Since the redox occurs in pairs, the atom that gets oxidized is also called the reducing agent or reductant, and the atom that is reduced is also called the oxidizing agent or oxidant. A straightforward way to remember the definitions of oxidation and reduction is...

Redox reactions are vital biochemical processes that underpin energy metabolism in cells. These reactions involve the transfer of electrons between molecules, occurring in tandem as oxidation and reduction. Oxidation refers to the loss of electrons, while reduction denotes their gain. This coupling ensures the seamless flow of electrons through metabolic pathways. For example, in bacterial metabolism, glucose undergoes oxidation to carbon dioxide, while oxygen is simultaneously reduced to...

Peroxisomes are specialized organelles present in fungi, plant, and animal cells. It can vary in number, size, morphology, and activity depending on the type of tissue and the nutritional state of the cell. For example, cells with active lipid metabolism, such as adipocytes, neurons, and hepatocytes, have more peroxisomes than other cells in the body. Besides their primary role in breaking down complex organic molecules, peroxisomes can also synthesize specific macromolecules and participate in...

Besides iodine, other oxidizing or reducing agents can serve as titrants in redox titrations. Common oxidizing titrants include KMnO4, cerium(IV), and K2Cr2O7. The choice of oxidizing titrants depends on factors like stability, cost, analyte strength, and reaction rate between the analyte and titrant. KMnO4 is a strong oxidizing titrant that reduces from Mn(VII) to Mn(II) in a highly acidic solution, simultaneously oxidizing the analyte to a higher oxidation state. In this case, KMnO4 acts as a...

Redox titration is a chemical analysis technique used to determine the concentration of an unknown substance by measuring the electron transfer in a redox (reduction-oxidation) reaction. The process involves gradually adding a titrant with a known concentration of an oxidizing or reducing agent, to the analyte, the solution with an unknown concentration, until reaching the endpoint, which indicates the completion of the reaction between the two substances. Ensuring the analyte is in a single...