Faculty Staff / Section of Genetics, Cell & Developmental Biology
Emeritus Professor
Office location: 2nd Floor
Email: c.georgiou@upatras.gr
Telephone: +30 2610 997227, +30 2610 996770, Fax: +30 2610 969278

Education

  • Undergraduate Degree, Department of Natural Sciences (Pysiognostico), University of Thessaloniki (1974).
  • Master in Biochemistry, Roosevelt University, USA (1979).
  • PhD in Biochemistry, IIllinois Institute of Technology, USA (1985).
  • Postdoctoral studies in Biochemistry-Molecular Biology, Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA (1985-1987).

Research and other activities

They cover the following areas. Research in Biochemistry of Oxidative Stress: Focuses on the following fields: Study of the biochemistry of oxidative stress in organisms and its relationship with differentiation and, in general, with physiological and pathological conditions of biological and medical interest, with physicochemistry, electronics (plasma), etc. Effect of the electromagnetic radiation from microwave (0.8 – 3 GHz) and ultra-low (50 Hz) frequencies on the creation of ractive oxygen species in water, and of oxidative stress in organisms. Development of analytical biochemical methods for the in vivo/vitro measurement of various parameters of oxidative stress and other related biological parameters. Research in Astrobiology: Origin of life and detection of extraterrestrial life in other planets. Identification of planetary mineral/water-born reactive oxygen oxidants, which are inhibitors of microbial life and inducers of oxidative stress on other planets (e.g. on Mars, using as study models arid deserts such as Atacama, Mojave, Antarctica, etc.). Construction of an instrument for identification and quantification of reactive oxygen species on the Moon, Mars, Titan, Europe, and Enceladus with funding from the European Space Agency (ESA). The research was/is conducted in collaboration with the astrogeophysicist Christopher McKay (NASA Ames Research Center, Space Science and Astrobiology Division, SST, Moffett Field, California, USA), the geomicrobiologist Henry Sun (Desert Research Institute, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA), the Biochemistry professor Dave Deamer (Departments of Biomolecular Engineering, and Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, at Davis / Santa Cruz), and the Mineralogy-Petrology Professor Ilias Chatzitheodoridis (Department of Geological Sciences, School of Mining and Metallurgical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens).

Representative Publications

Biochemistry-Medicine of oxidative stress

  • Patsoukis, N., Georgiou, C. D. (2004). Determination of the thiol redox state of organisms: New oxidative stress indicators. Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry 378: 1783-1792.
  • Georgiou, C. D., Patsoukis, Ν., Papapostolou, Ι. (2005). Assay for the quantification of small-sized fragmented genomic DNA. Analytical Biochemistry 339: 223-230.
  • Patsoukis, N., Georgiou, C. D. (2005). Fluorometric determination of thiol redox state. Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry 383: 923-929.
  • Georgiou, C. D., Papapostolou, I., Patsoukis, N., Tsegenidis, T., Sideris, T. (2005). An ultrasensitive fluorescent assay for the in vivoquantification of superoxide radical in organisms. Analytical Biochemistry 347: 144-151.
  • Georgiou, C. D., Papapostolou, Ι. (2006). Assay for the quantification of intact/fragmented genomic DNA. Analytical Biochemistry 358: 247–256.
  • Georgiou, C. D., Papapostolou, I., Grintzalis, K. (2008). Superoxide radical detection in cells, tissues, organisms (animals, plants, insects, microorganisms), and soils. Nature Protocols 3: 1679-1692.
  • Georgiou, C. D., Papapostolou, I., Grintzalis, K. (2009). Protocol for the quantitative assessment of DNA concentration and damage (fragmentation and nicks). Nature Protocols 4: 125-131.
  • Georgiou, C. D. (2010). Oxidative stress-induced biological damage by low-level EMFs: Mechanism of free radical pair electron spin polarization and biochemical amplification. European Journal of Oncology 5: 63-113 (In: Non-thermal effects and mechanisms of interaction between electromagnetic fields and living matter, Giuliani, L., Soffritti, M. Eds, Ramazzini Institute European J. Oncology Library 5, ISBN: 978-88-6261-166-4).
  • Grintzalis, K., Zisimopoulos, D., Grune, T., Weber, D., Georgiou, C. D. (2013). Method for the simultaneous determination of free/protein malondialdehyde and lipid/protein hydroperoxides. Free Radical Biology Medicine 59: 27-35.
  • Grintzalis, K., Papapostolou, I., Zisimopoulos, D., Stamatiou, I., Georgiou, C. D. (2014). Multiparametric protocol for the determination of thiol redox state in the living matter. Free Radical Biology Medicine 74: 85-98.
  • Grintzalis, K., Georgiou, C. D., Schneider, Y. -J. (2015). An accurate and sensitive Coomassie Brilliant Blue G-250-based assay for protein determination. Analytical Biochemistry 480: 28-30.
  • Georgiou, C. D., Zisimopoulos, D., Argyropoulou, V., Kalaitzopoulou, E., Salachas, G., Grune, T. (2018). Protein and cell wall polysaccharide carbonyl determination by a neutral pH 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine-based photometric assay. Redox Biology 17: 128-142.
  • Georgiou, C. D., Zisimopoulos, D., Argyropoulou, V., Kalaitzopoulou, E., Ioannou, P. V., Salachas, G., Grune, T. (2018). Protein carbonyl determination by a rhodamine B hydrazide-based fluorometric assay. Redox Biology 17: 236-245.
  • Georgiou, C.D., Margaritis, L.H. (2021). Oxidative stress and NADPH oxidase: Connecting electromagnetic fields, cation channels and biological effects. International Journal of Molecular Sciences 22(18): 10041.
  • Kostopoulou, E., Kalaitzopoulou, E., Papadea, P., Skipitari, M., Gil, A. P. R., Spiliotis, B. E., Georgiou, C. D. (2021). Oxidized lipid-associated protein damage in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus: new diagnostic/prognostic clinical markers. Pediatric Diabetes 22(8): 1135-1142.
  • Zisimopoulos, D. N., Kalaitzopoulou, E., Skipitari, M., Papadea, P., Panagopoulos, N. T., Salahas, G., Georgiou, C. D. (2022). Detection of superoxide radical in all biological systems by Thin Layer Chromatography. Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics 716: 109110.

Astrobiology

  • Georgiou, C. D., Papapostolou, I., Sun, H., McKay, C. P. (2007). Superoxide radical assays and applications in Mars-like Atacama soil. Journal of Geophysical Research 112: G04S13.
  • Georgiou, C. D., Deamer, D. W. (2014). Lipids as universal biomarkers of extraterrestrial life. Astrobiology 14(6): 541-549.
  • Georgiou, C. D., Sun, H. J., McKay, C. P., Grintzalis, K., Papapostolou, I., Zisimopoulos, D., Panagiotidis, K., Zhang, G., Koutsopoulou, E., Christidis, G. E., Margiolaki, I. (2015). Evidence for photochemical production of reactive oxygen species in desert soils. Nature Communications 6: 7100. DOI: 1038/ncomms8100.
  • Deamer, D. W., Georgiou, C. D. (2015). Hydrothermal conditions and the origin of cellular life. Astrobiology 15: 1091-1095.
  • Georgiou, C. D., Zisimopoulos, D., Panagiotidis, K., Grintzalis, K., Papapostolou, I., Quinn, R. C., McKay, C. P., Sun, H. (2016). Martian superoxide and peroxide O2 release (OR) assay: A new technology for terrestrial and planetary applications. Astrobiology 16(2): 126-142.
  • Georgiou, C. D., Zisimopoulos, D., Kalaitzopoulou, E., Quinn, R. C. (2017). Radiation driven formation of reactive oxygen species in oxychlorine containing Mars surface analogues. Astrobiology 17(4): 319-336.
  • Georgiou, C. D. (2018). Functional properties of amino acid side chains as biomarkers of extraterrestrial life. Astrobiology 18(11): 1479-1496.
  • Georgiou, C. D., McKay, C., Quinn, R., Kalaitzopoulou, E., Papadea, P., Skipitari, M. (2019). The Oxygen Release Instrument: Space mission reactive oxygen species measurements for habitability characterization, biosignature preservation potential assessment, and evaluation of human health hazards. Life (Basel) 9: 70; doi:10.3390/life9030070.q
  • Georgiou, C. D. (2019). Intelligent equipment control for space applications in astrogeobiology: Oxidant detection on planetary surfaces. Системная инженерия и информационные технологии (Systems Engineering and Information Technology) 1(2): C. 30-32 (ISSN 2658‐5014; http://siit.ugatu.su/index.php/journal/article/view/19).
  • Georgiou, C. D., Deamer, D. W. (2021). Amphiphilic self-assembly and the origin of life in hydrothermal conditions, chapter 19. pp. 337-348. In Handbook of Lipid Membranes: Molecular, Functional, and Materials Aspects, Safinya, C.R., Rädler, J.O. (Eds.), 1st ed., 15 Sept 2021, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, pages 376, eBook ISBN 9780429194078, DOI https://doi.org/10.1201/9780429194078.