Can oxidative stress be tracked in real time?

Think of oxidative stress as “rust” inside the body, silently damaging cells, driving inflammation, accelerating ageing, and contributing to many chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s.

One key biomarker is peroxynitrite, absent in healthy cells but surging at inflammation sites where disease begins. Traditional detection methods are often indirect, destructive, and unsuitable for continuous monitoring.

At Horizons 2025, Dr. Andrea S. Carlini (UC Santa Barbara) introduced a breakthrough: xL-PRPs, polymer-based fluorescent probes that “light up” in the presence of peroxynitrite. Polymerization through Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization (a reaction that opens cyclic monomers to form long polymer chains) extends their lifetime from seconds to days, slows diffusion, and allows researchers to visualize oxidative stress dynamics in living systems with high spatial resolution using light-sheet fluorescence microscopy.

This breakthrough opens new ways to study inflammation, track disease progression, and advance precision medicine. By hosting Horizons 2025 through Center for Environmental Intelligence (CEI), VinUni connects global scientists, spreads pioneering knowledge, and fosters collaborations for a healthier future for all.