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