Detecting Nitric Oxide with Capillary Electrophoresis

Researchers from the Second Military Medical University (Shanghai, China) used capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence detection to detect the release of nitric oxide from single neuron and mammalian cells. They used 8-(3,4-diaminophenyl)2,6-bis(2-carboxyethyl)-4,4-difluoro-1,3,5,7-tetramethyl-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacene as the fluorescent probe. They studied the feasibility of applying the method to four single-cell models. The method could be a powerful tool for studying the kinetics of nitric oxide release by neuronal cells during neurotransmission and for examining the pathobiological and therapeutic basis of nitric oxide for cardiovascular diseases.