# Tools for the Detection of Ethylene

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF DENVER (COLORADO SEMINARY) · 2020 · $150,700

## Abstract

7. Project Summary/Abstract
 While ethylene has long been known as an important plant hormone it has also been demonstrated
to be produced in mammals as a result of oxidative stress that is hallmark to numerous diseases. In
particular ethylene arises from the radical fragmentation of lipid peroxides and/or intermediates in their
formation. The formation of lipid peroxides is a result of reactive oxygen species, which are implicated as
playing stress or signaling roles in numerous diseases including cancer, cardiovascular disease, and
neurodegenerative diseases amongst others. While there are some sophisticated spectroscopic methods
for sensitively measuring the biomarker ethylene in exhaled breath, these approaches are necessarily
limited in spatial resolution and complexity of sample. Recently, our group has developed a
profluorescent chemodosimeter that is capable of detecting ethylene in live cells; however the current
sensitivity is insufficient for detection of endogenous ethylene.
 Therefore the overall goal of this exploratory research proposal is to determine if structural and
targeting modifications can provide the necessary sensitivity to study the endogenous production of
ethylene and any potential signaling roles. To achieve this goal we aim to (1) structurally optimize the
ligands about the ruthenium and tune the photophysical properties of the appended fluorophore; and (2)
to use subcellular targeting of the probe to cellular domains where ethylene is expected to be present in
higher concentrations.
 It is expected that the proposed research will result in probes with significantly improved limit of
detection (~2 orders of magnitude) in the range that might be expected for endogenous ethylene levels in
disease states. This will primarily be accomplished through synthesis of modified probes,
characterization of resulting properties, and localization studies in live cells. This exploratory research is
expected to evaluate the feasibility of detecting endogenous ethylene levels and lay the groundwork for
further investigations into ethylene's production at the cellular level. The ability to detect ethylene with
spatial resolution not available using current approaches would provide a broadly applicable tool capable
of reporting lipid peroxidation.
1

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10018050
- **Project number:** 5R21GM135824-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF DENVER (COLORADO SEMINARY)
- **Principal Investigator:** Brian Michel
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $150,700
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-09-15 → 2022-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10018050

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10018050, Tools for the Detection of Ethylene (5R21GM135824-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10018050. Licensed CC0.

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