title: Even free radicals should follow some rules: a guide to free radical research terminology and methodology.
abstract: Free radicals and oxidants are now implicated in physiological responses and in several diseases. Given the wide range of expertise of free radical researchers, application of the greater understanding of chemistry has not been uniformly applied to biological studies. We suggest that some widely used methodologies and terminologies hamper progress and need to be addressed. We make the case for abandonment and judicious use of several methods and terms and suggest practical and viable alternatives. These changes are suggested in four areas: use of fluorescent dyes to identify and quantify reactive species, methods for measurement of lipid peroxidation in complex biological systems, claims of antioxidants as radical scavengers, and use of the terms for reactive species.
authors.affiliation: University of California at Merced, Merced, CA 95344, USA; Ethel Percy Andrus Gerontology Center, Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA. Electronic address: peroxideman@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Henry Jay
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Forman
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Química, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ohara
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Augusto
authors.affiliation: German Institute of Human Nutrition, Potsdam-Rehbrücke, Nuthetal, Germany.
authors.forename: Regina
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Brigelius-Flohe
authors.affiliation: Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, Children׳sHospital of Philadelphia.
authors.forename: Phyllis A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Dennery
authors.affiliation: Department of Biophysics and Free Radical Research Center, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI 53226, USA.
authors.forename: Balaraman
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kalyanaraman
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania,Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
authors.forename: Harry
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ischiropoulos
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Division, British Heart Foundation Centre of Research Excellence, King׳s College London, London SE1 9NH, UK.
authors.forename: Giovanni E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Mann
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Bioquímica, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de la República, 11800 Montevideo, Uruguay.
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Radi
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37240, USA.
authors.forename: L Jackson
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Roberts
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Universitat de València, Valencia, Spain.
authors.forename: Jose
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vina
authors.affiliation: Ethel Percy Andrus Gerontology Center, Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA; Division of Molecular & Computational Biology, Department of Biological Sciences, Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA.
authors.forename: Kelvin J A
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Davies
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000378:metabolism*; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000737:chemistry; D016166:Free Radical Scavengers / Q000737:chemistry*; D005609:Free Radicals / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D015227:Lipid Peroxidation; D026361:Reactive Nitrogen Species / Q000737:chemistry; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000737:chemistry; D009626:Terminology as Topic; D017392:Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D016166:Free Radical Scavengers; D005609:Free Radicals; D026361:Reactive Nitrogen Species; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D017392:Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances
keywords: Antioxidant; F2-isoprostane; Fluorescent dye; Free radicals; Radical scavenging; Reactive nitrogen species; Reactive oxygen species; Thiobarbituric acid; α-Tocopherol