Boosting the electrochemical oxygen reduction activity of hemoglobin on fructose@graphene-oxide nanoplatforms

Oxidation–Reduction Reactions

Energy production within a cell involves many coordinated chemical pathways. Most of these pathways are combinations of oxidation and reduction reactions, which occur at the same time. An oxidation reaction strips an electron from an atom in a compound, and the addition of this electron to another compound is a reduction reaction. Because oxidation and reduction usually occur together, these pairs of reactions are called redox reactions.
The removal of an electron from a molecule, results in a...

The benzylic position describes the position of a carbon atom attached directly to a benzene ring. Benzene by itself does not undergo oxidation. In contrast, the benzylic carbon is quite reactive in the presence of strong oxidizing agents such as KMnO4 or H2CrO4. Therefore, alkylbenzenes are readily oxidized to benzoic acid, irrespective of the type of alkyl groups.

Adenosine triphosphate, or ATP, is considered the primary energy source in cells. However, energy can also be stored in the electrochemical gradient of an ion across the plasma membrane, which is determined by two factors: its chemical and electrical gradients.
The chemical gradient relies on differences in the abundance of a substance on the outside versus the inside of a cell and flows from areas of high to low ion concentration. In contrast, the electrical gradient revolves around an...

Hemoglobin is a globular protein made up of four subunits. Two of these subunits are alpha chains, and the other two are beta chains. Each subunit contains a molecule of heme, which has an iron atom and can bind to oxygen. When an oxygen molecule binds to one heme group, it changes the shape of hemoglobin, making it easier for the other heme groups to bind oxygen as well.
When all four heme groups are bound to oxygen, the resulting molecule is called oxyhemoglobin. As a result, arterial blood...

In redox reactions, the transfer of electrons occurs between reacting species. Electron transfer is described by a hypothetical number called the oxidation number (or oxidation state). It represents the effective charge of an atom or element, which is assigned using a set of rules.