Premium
EPR method for the measurement of cellular sulfhydryl groups
Author(s) -
Weiner L.M.,
Hu H.,
Swartz H.M.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
febs letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.593
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1873-3468
pISSN - 0014-5793
DOI - 10.1016/0014-5793(91)81270-i
Subject(s) - electron paramagnetic resonance , chemistry , biophysics , biology , nuclear magnetic resonance , physics
An EPR method that can measure the concentration of sulfhydryl groups in intact cells has been developed using a specially designed stable nitroxyl biradical. The biradical, ·RS — S·R , contains a disulfide bond and readily undergoes thiol—disulfide exchange reactions with thiols resulting in a characteristic EPR spectrum which can be analyzed to provide a quantitative measure of sulfhydryl groups. The data obtained from the EPR method are in good agreement with those obtained from the conventional optical method using Ellman's reagent. The advantages of the EPR method are that the measurement can be carried out on intact cells or any other highly colored, absorbing and/or scattering solutions and the sensitivity is such that only a few cells (∼ 100) are needed for each quantitative measurement.