In this paper instrumental methods of carbon dioxide (CO₂) detection in biological material were compared. Using cis-[Cr(C₂O₄)(pm)(OH₂)₂]⁺ cation as a specific molecular biosensor and the stopped-flow technique the concentrations of CO₂ released from the cell culture medium as one of final products of pyruvate decomposition caused by hydrogen peroxide were determined. To prove the usefulness of our method of CO₂ assessment in the case of biological samples we investigated protective properties of exogenous pyruvate in cultured osteosarcoma 143B cells exposed to 1 mM hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) added directly to culture medium. Pyruvic acid is well known scavenger of H₂O₂ and, moreover, a molecule which is recognized as one of the major mediator of oxidative stress detected in many diseases and pathological situations like ischemiareperfusion states. The pyruvate's antioxidant activity is described as its rapid reaction with H₂O2,which causes nonenzymatic decarboxylation of pyruvate and releases of CO₂, water and acetate as final products. In this work for the first time we have correlated the concentration of CO₂ dissolved in culture medium with pyruvate's oxidant-scavenging abilities. Moreover, the kinetics of the reaction between aqueous solution of CO₂ and coordinate ion, cis-[Cr(C₂O₄)(pm)(OH₂)₂]⁺ was analysed. The results obtained enabled determination of the number of steps of the reaction studied. Based on the kinetic equations, rate constants were determined for each step.
Keywords: carbon dioxide; hydrogen peroxide.; molecular biosensor; oxidative stress.