Using Novel Fluorophore, JCH, to Track Oxidative Damage in Live Cells

Authors: Andrew Moran, Susan Bane

Field of Study: Science, Technology, Engineering, and/or Math

Faculty Mentors: Susan Bane

Easel: 49

Timeslot: Afternoon

Abstract: Oxidative stress is a hallmark of many human diseases and causes damage to cells in the form of protein carbonylation, lipid peroxidation, and DNA oxidation. If left untreated, this can lead to apoptosis. The focus of the current work is two-faceted. The first objective is to study the optical, chemical, and kinetic properties of a novel fluorophore, julolidine coumarin hydrazide (JCH), in solution to understand how the molecule behaves during a reaction. Propanal was used as a model aldehyde in this study to follow the reaction progress with JCH. The second objective of the study was to use JCH in live cells to optimize and expand the possible applications of this fluorophore as a carbonyl detector. This work established optimized conditions to study damage from oxidative stress on a cellular level. As expected, fluorescence intensity increases with the amount of carbonylation present in the cell, suggesting there is more carbonylation.