Dr. Lancaster’s present research interests are in the chemical and physical foundations of the biological actions of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species. His most recent project is delineating the cellular functions of dinitrosyliron complexes (DNIC), which show a characteristic signal using electron  paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy and have been observed in tissues since the 1960’s in a huge variety of pathophysiological conditions. These species contain one iron with two molecules of bound nitric oxide (NO) but the complete molecular structures of these species are essentially unknown, as are possible biological functions. We recently reported data suggesting the cellular origin of the iron and also evidence for two cellular functions, formation of protein nitrosothiols and also protection against cellular injury as a result of hypoxia-induced iron mobilization and consequent oxidative stress (Li et al. J. Biol. Chem. 2014, in press).

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