Dr. Ames will be directing the biochemistry core at CHORI which will carry out various assays in serum, plasma and airway fluid samples collected in the conduct of all three projects. Dr. Ames laboratory has extensive experience in bioassays and have developed numerous assays for biomarkers for oxidative damage and antioxidants. These assays include HPLC and GC-MS based detection of antioxidants and oxidized products in biological samples. The assays include detection of tocopherol, 5-Nitro-gamma-tocopherol (a stable adduct formed by oxidation of gamma-tocopherol), beta-CEHC (2,7,8-trimethyl-2-(beta-carboxyethyl)-6-hydroxychroman, a metabolite. They have also developed assays to assess levels of 5-Chlorouracil (5-CIU) and 5-Bromouracil (5-BrU), markers for the action of myeloperoxidase (MPO) and eosinophil peroxidase (EPO) from granulocytes involved in airway inflammation. The assays, mostly developed in the Ames lab, for detection of oxidative damage include lipid peroxidation (MDA assay, a GC-MS method), and DNA damage markers: AP sites, and comet assays, 8-oxo-Guanine, DNA-protein cross links, and double-strand breaks (micronuclei).