Measurement of Reactive Oxygen Species in Whole Blood and Mononuclear Cells Using Chemiluminescence

Free radicals generated by a wide variety of processes, such as ionizing radiation (1 ), toxic xenobiotics (2 ), inflammation (3 ), and metabolites of membrane lipid transformation (4 ), are involved in various diseases (5 –9 ). A number of disorders in cellular and organ systems have been attributed to them. Free radicals damage lipids (7 ), proteins (10 ) and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) (11 ,12 ) with consequent effects ranging from cell death to neoplasia (13 ). It is therefore important to measure the amount of free radicals generated by varrous cell and organ types. Traditionally, one would measure free-radical generation by electron spin resonance, which is costly or complicated, or measure antioxidants that scavenge free radicals to get an estimate of the oxidative state.