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Reactive Oxygen Species

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  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Cancer

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Synonyms

ROS Reactive oxygen species

Definition

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are small molecule metabolites of oxygen that tend to participate in redox reactions because of their high reactivity. Redox reactions are divided into two chemical processes: oxidation and reduction. Oxidation is a chemical process to gain oxygen and lose hydrogen or electrons, whereas reduction is a chemical process to lose oxygen and gain hydrogen or electrons.

Characteristics

ROS are composed of free radicals and non-radicals, both inorganic and organic. Free radicals are a cluster of atoms that contain an unpaired electron in the outermost shell of electrons and are an extremely unstable configuration so that free radicals quickly react with other molecules or radicals to achieve the stable configuration of four pairs of electrons in their outermost shell (one pair for hydrogen). Typical free radicals include superoxide anion (O2 •−), hydroxyl (HO−), nitric oxide radical (NO•), alkoxyl (RO•), and...

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See Also

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Feil Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University, New York, NY, USA

    Gang Wang

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  1. Gang Wang
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Correspondence to Gang Wang .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Abt. Tumorgenetik, Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, Heidelberg, Germany

    Manfred Schwab

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Wang, G. (2014). Reactive Oxygen Species. In: Schwab, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Cancer. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27841-9_4966-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27841-9_4966-8

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27841-9

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