Optical methods for the detection of nitric oxide

摘要

Nitric oxide (NO) is a highly reactive molecule that is synthesized by a variety of biological tissues. It plays a major role in the regulation of blood pressure, in nerve cell communication, in the destruction of pathogens, and it has been implicated in numerous other physiological process in ways yet to be elucidated. The need to understand how or when this molecule participates in a chemical pathway in vivo, has made it necessary to develop methods for its detection in biological matrices and fluids. In this lecture we review some of the optical methods that have gained acceptance in the biological community, the controversies that they have engendered, and some of the technical challenges that lie ahead for this area of research.