2.11. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) Level
The oxidizing agents known as reactive oxygen species (ROS) are heavily linked to tissue damage. The respiratory redox chain in the mitochondria is thought to be the main source of ROS and free radicals in the cell. ROS can come from both external and endogenous sources. This implies that ROS production is inevitably linked to ATP synthesis in most cells. ROS and other related radicals serve diverse physiological functions in the cell. Dichlorofluorescein diacetate (H2DCF-DA) is a widely used cell-permeable fluorescence-based sensor for detecting ROS both in vitro and in vivo. Endogenous esterases deacetylate DCFDA to dichlorofluorescein (H2DCF), which reacts with different ROS to produce the fluorophore DCF, measured fluorometrically at excitation wavelengths of 488 nm and emission wavelengths of 525 nm.23