Scientists design a novel method to find uric acid in cells

Presence of abnormally high amount of serum uric acid in our cells have been associated with several disease conditions including gout and kidney stones. But how do we measure uric acid in live cells? Researchers from Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan, Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Howrah and University of Calcutta, Kolkata, have synthesized a new fluorescent compound made from Naphthyridine, which reacts with uric acid and forms intermolecular hydrogen bonds and produces “turn-off” fluorescence. This technique, the researchers claim, is highly sensitive (can detect uric acid up to 0.6 µM at pH 7.4) and safe to use.