Redox chemical biology

Redox Chemical Biology (in Advanced Chemical Biology: Chemical Dissection and Reprogramming of Biological Systems, Wiley-VCH, 2023) explores how chemical tools have revolutionized the study of oxidative post-translational modifications (OxiPTMs) in proteins. The chapter traces the evolution of redox biology from viewing reactive oxygen species as mere metabolic byproducts to recognizing their roles as precise signaling mediators through cysteine oxidation. It highlights advances in activity-based and chemoselective probes that capture reactive cysteine species—including sulfenic (–SOH), sulfinic (–SO₂H), and persulfide (–SSH) forms—directly in living systems. Integration of these reagents with modern mass-spectrometry–based chemoproteomics has enabled quantitative, site-specific mapping of redox-regulated cysteines, revealing how oxidation dynamically tunes protein function and small-molecule reactivity. The chapter concludes with perspectives on next-generation redox probes, organelle-specific detection, and redox-responsive covalent ligands, underscoring the central role of chemical biology in illuminating oxidative signaling networks.