From: Caenorhabditis elegans as a powerful tool in natural product bioactivity research
Probe | Reaction | Target | Pros | Cons | Refs |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2’,7’-Dichlorofluorescein diacetate | Oxidation of 2′,7′-dichlorodihydrofluorescein to fluorescent 2’-7’-dichlorofluorescein | H2O2, •HO, and ROO• | Detects ROS in the whole body | - Exerts free radical properties itself - Lacks specificity | [31] |
Amplex red | Oxidation of 10-acetyl-3,7-dihydroxypenoxazine by horseradish peroxidase in the presence of H2O2 that produces a red fluorescence | H2O2 | - Both fluorometric and spectrophotometric measurement - Detect ROS in the surrounding medium | - Causes autooxidation and a self-amplification of the fluorescent signal - Forms superoxide in the presence of NADH | |
MitoSOX | Oxidation of dihydroethidium by O2• − to fluorescent ethidium | Mainly O2• −  | - Targets the mitochondria - Provides less background fluorescence signal | - Possibly reacts with cell components like cytochrome C | [31] |
MitoTracker Red CM-H2Xros | Oxidation of the reduced form to the red-fluorescent rosamine | H2O2 | Mitochondria selectivity | - Poor detection of other ROS - Background signal generated from nonspecific lipid uptake of dye | [33] |
Nuclear Peroxy Emerald 1 | H2O2-mediated conversion of arylboronates to phenol | H2O2 | Measuring nuclear H2O2 fluxes | Â | [39] |
Peroxy orange I | Oxidation of the fluorophore masked by boronate moiety by H2O2 to unmasked fluorescence compound | H2O2 |  | - Competes with H2O2-scavenging enzymes - Reacts with ONOO– | [35] |
MCLA | Forms N-methylacridone upon oxidation by O2• −  | O2• − and singlet oxygen | Does not undergo redox cycling | - Low specificity - High background noise | |
CellROX | Bright green fluorescence upon oxidation by ROS and subsequent binding to mitochondrial DNA | O2• − and •HO | Detects many types of ROS |  | |
CBH | Oxidizes the benzeneboronic group to phenol after reacting with H2O2 | H2O2 | High sensitivity and selectivity to H2O2 | Â | [38] |
DCHP | DCHP is oxidized to a fluorescent dicyanomethylene-4H-pyran derivative (DCM) | H2O2 | High sensitivity and selectivity to H2O2 | Â | [40] |