Advances in the Quantitative Detection of Hydrogen Sulfide

Hydrogen sulfide is one of three important gaseous transmitter molecules in mammalian biology. The presence and absence of gasotransmitters have been linked to various processes and disfunctions in the body, from vasodilation to Alzheimer's disease in hydrogen sulfide's case. As a result, there is a substantial push in research to make gasotransmitter-donating systems for biomedical applications. Unfortunately, the use of hydrogen sulfide in drugs and medical technology has been limited, and one major reason for this lies in our limited ability to detect the gas in living cells and other applications, which prevents scientists from understanding what exactly hydrogen sulfide does at different concentrations. 

Three different innovations to this problem will be presented. The first approach is the use of Au/AgI dimeric nanoparticles as a colorimetric detection method that is easy to use for qualitative and quantiative detection. The second innovation is the design of a novel organic fluorescent probe; it's primary advantage being its application towards sensing hydrogen sulfide in cells. A third innovation is the design of an electrochemical biosensor, which gives it an advantage in speed of detection."