S. Stolik et al., Photoacoustic measurement of ethylene as a real time biomarker of lipid peroxidation processes in mice, ANAL SCI, 17, 2001, pp. S365-S367
In some diseases the accumulated endogenous delta -aminolevulinic acid (del
ta -ALA), with a pH between 7 and 8, undergoes an enolization process that
produces free radicals. It is expected that most of the exogenously-supplie
d GALA in healthy organisms will be converted into protoporphyrin IX (PpIX)
, and ultimately to the hem group, but a small accumulation of delta -ALA,
when present, will initiate a lipid peroxidation process due to the generat
ion of oxygen-reactive species. Some of the end products commonly found in
lipid peroxidation include ethane, pentane, and ethylene as well as other h
ydrocarbons. As these gases are normally produced at trace levels, sensitiv
e techniques are needed for their measurement. In this work, the peroxidati
ve effect of exogenously-supplied GALA and CCl4 in female CD1 mice has been
studied by photoacoustic trace gas detection. Exhaled ethylene from delta
-ALA-administered mice reached concentrations of few ppbV for approximately
30 minutes, after application of delta -ALA.