Natural Biomarkers for Monitoring Bioenergetics in Living Cells
Ahmed A. Heikal
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Swenson College of Science and Engineering,
University of Minnesota-Duluth, MN, 55812, USA
Abstract: Reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) is a key cofactor in energy
metabolism pathways and a myriad of oxidation-reduction reactions in living cells. NADH is
naturally fluorescent and its emission is rather sensitive to protein binding. As a result, NADH
autofluorescence would allow for noninvasive and ultimately quantitative monitoring of energy
metabolism in living cells. In this seminar, I will highlight our efforts in establishing NADH as a
natural biomarker for cellular energy metabolism, mitochondrial anomalies and related health
problems. Macromolecular crowding effects on enzyme binding reactions with NADH will also
be discussed using a combination of both fluorescence microscopy and spectroscopy methods
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