reactive oxygen species

Synonyms:
  • ROS
German: reaktive Sauerstoffspezies
Japanese: 活性酸素種

Chemistry. Oxygen containing molecules that are highly unstable and highly interactive with other molecules. They are formed by the incomplete one-electron reduction of oxygen. They extract electrons from other molecules becoming radicals themselves. Thus a chain reaction is initiated which can cause cellular damage by oxidative stress. These ROS include superoxides, peroxides, hydroxyl radical and hypochlorous acid.

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