Ukr.Biochem.J. 2025; Volume 97, Issue 4, Jul-Aug, pp. 43-51
doi: https://doi.org/10.15407/ubj97.04.043
ABTS oxidation reaction as a model of cytochrome c-driven electron transfer
F. Gudratova, A. Aliyeva, S. Mahmudova, K. Gasimov, T. Yusifov*
Institute of Biophysics, Ministry of Science and Education
of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Baku;
*e-mail: tjussifo@ucla.edu
Received: 23 May 2025; Revised: 24 July 2025;
Accepted: 12 September 2025; Available on-line: 17 September2025
Cytochrome c, as an electron carrier within the mitochondria, plays a crucial role in the electron transport chain. To meet the demand for rapid methods that assess the electron transport properties of cytochrome c, we used the electron donor 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonate) (ABTS) as a substrate and suitable spectrophotometric reporter of cytochrome c peroxidase-like activity. ABTS and cytochrome c from bovine were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich Inc. The time course of the cytochrome c-driven ABTS oxidation reaction was studied using H2O2 as a second substrate. It was demonstrated that CytC addition is a prerequisite for the transfer of electrons from ABTS to H2O2. The reaction kinetic analysis with determination of Vmax, Km, kcat, and kcat/Km values for both substrates was performed. Our results demonstrate that the cytochrome c-catalyzed ABTS oxidation reaction can be effectively employed as a model for studying the functional role of cytochrome c in various conditions.
Keywords: ABTS reaction, cytochrome c, electron transport rate, Michaelis-Menten kinetics parameters, peroxidase activity
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