Vavilov Institute of General Genetics Russian Academy of Sciences, 119991 Moscow, Russia.
Chemistry Department, Lomonosov Moscow State University, 119991 Moscow, Russia.
Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Jun 14;23(12):6642. doi: 10.3390/ijms23126642.
Formaldehyde (FA) is the simplest aldehyde present both in the environment and in living organisms. FA is an extremely reactive compound capable of protein crosslinking and DNA damage. For a long time, FA was considered a "biochemical waste" and a by-product of normal cellular metabolism, but in recent decades the picture has changed. As a result, the need arose for novel instruments and approaches to monitor and measure not only environmental FA in water, cosmetics, and household products, but also in food, beverages and biological samples including cells and even organisms. Despite numerous protocols being developed for in vitro and in cellulo FA assessment, many of them have remained at the "proof-of-concept" stage. We analyze the suitability of different methods developed for non-biological objects, and present an overview of the recently developed approaches, including chemically-synthesized probes and genetically encoded FA-sensors for in cellulo and in vivo FA monitoring. We also discuss the prospects of classical methods such as chromatography and spectrophotometry, and how they have been adapted in response to the demand for precise, selective and highly sensitive evaluation of FA concentration fluctuations in biological samples. The main objectives of this review is to summarize data on the main approaches for FA content measurement in liquid biological samples, pointing out the advantages and disadvantages of each method; to report the progress in development of novel molecules suitable for application in living systems; and, finally, to discuss genetically encoded FA-sensors based on existing natural biological FA-responsive elements.
甲醛（FA）是环境和生物体内存在的最简单的醛。FA 是一种极其活跃的化合物，能够使蛋白质交联并造成 DNA 损伤。长期以来，FA 被认为是一种“生化废物”和正常细胞代谢的副产物，但近几十年来，情况发生了变化。因此，人们需要新的仪器和方法来监测和测量不仅在水、化妆品和家用产品中存在的环境 FA，还需要测量食物、饮料和包括细胞甚至生物体在内的生物样本中的 FA。尽管已经为体外和细胞内 FA 评估开发了许多方案，但其中许多仍处于“概念验证”阶段。我们分析了为非生物对象开发的不同方法的适用性，并概述了最近开发的方法，包括用于细胞内和体内 FA 监测的化学合成探针和遗传编码 FA 传感器。我们还讨论了经典方法（如色谱法和分光光度法）的前景，以及它们如何适应对生物样品中 FA 浓度波动进行精确、选择性和高灵敏度评估的需求。本文综述的主要目的是总结液体生物样品中 FA 含量测量的主要方法的数据，指出每种方法的优缺点；报告适用于生命系统的新型分子的开发进展；最后，讨论基于现有天然生物 FA 反应元件的遗传编码 FA 传感器。
