Nitroprusside disodium dihydrate

Nitroprusside disodium dihydrate (CAS No.: 13755-38-9) is a synthetic inorganic nitric oxide donor, classified as a small-molecule chemical probe for cardiovascular physiology, redox biology, and signal transduction research. It is commonly used to establish experimental phenotypes of endothelium-independent vasodilation and to dissect the soluble guanylate cyclase—cyclic guanosine monophosphate—protein kinase G cascade; it releases nitric oxide in aqueous and biological systems, activates soluble guanylate cyclase, promotes cyclic guanosine monophosphate accumulation, and downstream regulates protein kinase G-dependent targets, thereby affecting smooth muscle tone, calcium ion homeostasis, and cytoskeletal dynamics, while also potentially being accompanied by secondary effects on redox-sensitive pathways and protein S?nitrosylation; in vitro, responses associated with nitric oxide release and soluble guanylate cyclase-mediated signaling in enzyme-proximal functional assays can typically be detected in the nanomolar to low micromolar range, whereas phenotypic readouts at the cellular level often require low micromolar to sub-millimolar exposure, depending on factors such as matrix composition, reducing equivalents, and light exposure; in biomedical research practice, this compound is widely used as a reference nitric oxide donor in endothelial cells, vascular smooth muscle cells, cardiomyocytes, neurons, and other primary or immortalized cell models, and is also used in oxidative and nitrative stress research, for example, it can trigger autophagy-related responses in glutathione-depleted osteoblasts; in preclinical animal models (such as rodent ischemia—reperfusion paradigms), it is commonly used as a probe to study nitric oxide biology, vascular reactivity, and tissue perfusion mechanisms; in drug discovery and chemical biology screening workflows, it is frequently included as a positive control or pathway modulator in tiered screening and mechanistic validation targeting the nitric oxide—soluble guanylate cyclase—cyclic guanosine monophosphate axis, and the concentration or dose used in experiments usually depends on the specific experimental design and research objectives.