Nitric oxide (NO) is an endogenously produced molecule that plays critical roles in numerous physiological processes. Dysregulation of NO-dependent signaling has been associated with numerous pathological conditions, and medical interventions already exist that target the NO pathway. Our understanding of the roles of NO in the human body is hindered by the difficulty of assessing NO levels in biological tissues. Currently available fluorescent probes assess NO indirectly (by detecting NO oxidation products) or involve very elaborate synthetic pathways, resulting in high costs for NO detection. Researchers at FIU have developed a novel way of assessing the levels of nitric oxide in solution and in live or fixed biological tissues by using metal photoluminescent complexes containing certain metals and other chemicals that are transformed using thermal or photochemical techniques to reactive precursors which fluoresce upon reacting with NO. The Nitric Oxide Fluorescent Sensing is a direct result of spectroscopic changes that occur upon reaction of NO with an organometallic complex, demonstrating a new paradigm of NO detection mechanism. This can be expanded to a broader family of complexes that can be commercialized at a substantially lower cost than current NO dyes.This technology will provide a low cost, ratiometric fluorescent probe that will directly detect and quantify NO in biological tissues and replace commercially available fluorescent indicators.

Benefit

More affordable than commercially available technologiesProvides ratiometric measurementsDoes not require moving partsDirect detection of NO concentration with high sensitivity and selectivity

Market Application

Direct detection of nitric oxide in biological samples for biomedical and environmental research and other applications requiring quantitative NO sensing