This project of Professor Z. Rosenzweig of the University of New Orleans, supported by the Analytical and Surface Chemistry program, is a study of a new fluorescence based analytical method for determination of pH, and the levels of molecular oxygen and hydrogen peroxide in single living cells. The new method is less invasive and more rapid than methods such as fluorescence microscopy or cell cytometry, and is proposed to be less technically involved for the user. The measurements are indicative of exposure of the cell to oxidizing agents that are shown to be detrimental to the cell via formation of reactive oxygen species within the cell. The measurement is made by monitoring the fluorescent emission of nanolipobeads that are incorporated in the cell membranes. The educational aspects of the CAREER program are addressed via proposed revisions to the laboratory portion of the freshman chemistry laboratory and the incorporation of clinical chemistry experiments into an analytical chemistry graduate course.
Individual cells are considered to be accurate and sensitive indicators of biological stress induced by environmental pollutants. The project of Professor Rosenzweig develops very small fluorescent beads that are incorporated into the cell membrane and provide a response that is an indicator of levels of reactive oxygen species inside the cell that are produced as a result of stress.
