Gasotransmitters are gaseous molecules generated under controlled conditions in our body, and are involved in various pathophysiological signalling processes. Three such species, namely, nitric oxide (NO), carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) have been detected thus far.1 NO is mainly involved in vasodilation and wound healing, and also have significance in cancer biology. CO at the same time has anti-inflammatory, anti-proliferative, anti-apoptotic and anti-hypertensive effects. H2S is the third and newly discovered gasotransmitter which has regulatory role in antioxidant defence. Aberration in its production and distribution has also been seen in Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, Endoplasmic reticulum stress etc.2 A noticeable change in the concentration of these species, especially H2S, has been reported during the onset of SEPSIS, which is responsible for high mortality rates in ICUs. In order to study the biological effect of these gasotransmitters, their selective detection and quantification in biological samples is necessary, and there is lot of interest to develop suitable probes for fast detection with good sensitivity and selectivity.3,4 After giving an introduction based of recent literature, our plans to develop new probes for continuous monitoring of gasotransmitters in a hospital setting will be discussed during the first part of this presentation. Studies have also shown that exogenous administration of H2S using suitable donors can be used as a strategy to control hyper-inflammatory responses during infections.5 Since this is directly linked with the mortality from COVID-19, we would like to develop new pro-drugs capable of delivering this gasotransmitter along with other antivirals in a controlled manner. These details will also be discussed during this presentation.

References:
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2. Filipovic, M. R.; Zivanovic, J.; Alvarez, B.; Banerjee, R. Chem. Rev. 2018, 118, 3, 1253–1337.
3. Yang, M.; Fan, J.; Du, J.; Peng, X. Chem. Sci. 2020, 11, 5127-5141.
4. Ramshad, K.; Divya, T. T.; Archana P. P.; Ashis, K. S.; Lakshmi C.; Muraleedharan K. M. Analyst. 2019,144, 4210-4218.
5. Roshanravan, N.; Seif, F.; Ostadrahimi, A.; Pouraghaei, M.; Ghaffari, S. Arch. Med. Res. 2020, 51, 608-612.