Carbonylated Proteins (Serum, Plasma) ELISA

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) can oxidize proteins, lipids, and DNA, causing damage
of their structure and function as well as cell injury. Proteins are oxidized by free radicals,
whereby the constituent amino acids are variously modified or degraded. The
modifications result in new functional groups such as carbonyl or hydroxyl groups,
which may lead to protein fragmentation, formation of protein-protein cross-linkages,
disruption of the tertiary structure and loss of functional activity. In addition,
ROS are directly associated with diseases like atherosclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis,
Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease as well as ageing and cancerogenesis.
Protein carbonyls are formed by a variety of oxidative mechanisms and are sensitive
indices of oxidative injury. The quantity of protein carbonyls in a protein sample can
be determined by derivatizing with dinitrophenyl-hydrazine (DNPH) and measuring
the bound anti-DNPH antibodies. The ELISA method enables carbonyls to be measured
quantitatively with microgram quantities of protein.