Discription

Recent years, hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) has been shown to exhibit various physiological activities such as vasodilation, cytoprotection, insulin secretion, and neurotransmitter regulation. Further, it has been attracting attention as an important signaling molecule following nitric oxide (NO) and carbon monoxide (CO). Hydrogen sulfide, like NO and CO, is recognized as a gaseous molecule, however its pKa is about 7, and at physiological pH, about 80% of hydrogen sulfide exists in the form of hydrogen sulfide ion (HS-). In addition, hydrogen sulfide ions take on various bonding forms and structures in vivo, and the details of their mechanism of action are still unknown, and elucidation of the biological functions of sulfur, particularly hydrogen sulfide, is eagerly awaited.

　Monobromobimane is a thiol-specific fluorescent labeling agent that produces two molecules of Bimane for each molecule of hydrogen sulfide (Sulfide dibimane). Sulfide dibimane can be separated by HPLC from bimane compounds in which monobromobimane reacts with thiol compounds such as glutathione and cysteine. In addition, since the generated compounds are fluorescent, high-sensitivity analysis by fluorescence detection is possible. Recently, a method that achieves even higher sensitivity and selectivity by using Sulfide dibimane (S34) in combination with a mass spectrometer (MS) has been reported, and this method is being established as a detailed analysis method not only for hydrogen sulfide but also for various biological substances with SH groups.