Future Directions, Pitfalls, and Solutions in Oxidative Stress Assessment

Increased evidence links reactive species (RS) to the etiology of various diseases. Despite the impressive developments taking place in oxidative stress (OS) monitoring, many important aspects of free radical (FR) assessment are open for investigation. The available methods for RS determination in biological systems are challenging as they have rapidly evolved over the few last decades. Therefore, the knowledge of the gaps that face any investigator will undoubtedly lead to a better assessment of oxidative stress to prevent, control, or diagnose oxidative stress related diseases. In all cases, RS levels and the redox state of a biological system (e.g., cells, tissues, and whole organism) should be measured precisely by analytical methods that offer greater specificity and sensitivity for each and every RS. The use of global indicators in a valuable alternative has gained considerable interest for their capacity to assess the overall redox state in cells. This chapter begins with a brief introduction about the very short half-lives of oxidative stress markers and gives an in-depth account of the present knowledge and current problems in the field of oxidative assessment in biological systems. The critical discussion of the methodologies is especially helpful. In order to minimize the variability of results, optimal conditions for sampling and storage are described. New approaches are also presented like the use of the combination of several biomarkers for optimal results. In this chapter, developing an index for summarizing oxidative stress status is recommended. Future perspectives are highlighted such as standardization of protocols, inter-laboratory comparisons, technical validation, and consensus establishment.