Tools and techniques to measure oxidative stress

Abstract

Oxidative stress overwhelms the natural antioxidant defense system by creating imbalance in production and consumption of reactive oxygen species (ROS). A number of reactive molecules and free radicals exemplify the ROS. Accurate measurement of ROS may help in the diagnosis of various diseases such as diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases. The robust and sensitive assays are required for its detection and quantification. In this chapter, we describe various techniques to measure the oxidative stress by formation of oxidative by-products of lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids as well as the probing with various compounds. Methods including trapping, spectrofluorimetry, flow cytometry, ELISA, and antibody-based assays have been discussed. Understanding the tools and techniques to measure oxidative stress will help researchers to overcome various complications due to overproduction of reactive species (RS).