Lucigenin and linoleate enhanced chemiluminescent assay for superoxide dismutase activity

The xanthine/xanthine oxidase dependent chemiluminescence was enhanced both by lucigenin and linoleate to create a sensitive, specific, and rapid chemiluminescent method for superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity determination. A pH optimum at around 10.0 was found both for the chemiluminescence and its inhibition by SOD. At this pH, a linear inhibition response to concentrations from 0.01 to 100 ng/ml of bovine Cu,Zn SOD could be established, with a 50% inhibitory concentration of 0.75 ng/ml. As little as 0.17 fmol of Cu,Zn SOD per test can be detected. With a slightly lower sensitivity, the method is operative at pH 7.4, too. Both Cu,Zn SOD and Mn SOD can be assayed. The rationale of the assay is in combining a superoxide-producing enzymatic system with linoleate amplification to enhance the sensitivity of the chemiluminescence to inhibition by SOD activity. Applicability of the method to biological samples was tested with a standard addition experiment.