Disclosed herein are compositions that include oxygen, a sugar or sugar alcohol, and an amino acid, wherein the amino acid is present in an amount sufficient to stabilize the oxygen. Also provided are aqueous diagnostic quality controls or calibration reagents and methods of stabilizing oxygen in a liquid solution.

H-NOX proteins are mutated to exhibit improved or optimal kinetic and thermodynamic properties for blood gas O.sub.2 delivery. The engineered H-NOX proteins comprise mutations that impart altered O.sub.2 or NO ligand-binding relative to the corresponding wild-type H-NOX domain, and are operative as physiologically compatible mammalian blood O.sub.2 gas carriers. The invention also provides pharmaceutical compositions, kits, and methods that use wild-type or mutant H-NOX proteins for the treatment of any condition for which delivery of O.sub.2 is beneficial.

Disclosed herein are compositions comprising oxygen, a sugar or sugar alcohol, and an amino acid, wherein the amino acid is present in an amount sufficient to stabilize the oxygen. Also provided are aqueous diagnostic quality controls or calibration reagents and methods of stabilizing oxygen in a liquid solution.

A device and method for calibrating a delivery device includes providing a container A containing a nitrite, providing a container B containing an acid, releasing the contents of containers A and B, allowing the nitrite and acid to mix, waiting for a predetermined time, allowing air to combine with the mixture, and using NO and traces of NO.sub.2 to check and calibrate NO and NO.sub.2 sensors.

A device and method for calibrating a delivery device includes providing a container A containing a nitrite, providing a container B containing an acid, releasing the contents of containers A and B, allowing the nitrite and acid to mix, waiting for a predetermined time, allowing air to combine with the mixture, and using NO and traces of NO.sub.2 to check and calibrate NO and NO.sub.2 sensors.

HNOX proteins are mutated to exhibit improved or optimal kinetic and thermodynamic properties for blood gas O.sub.2 delivery. The engineered HNOX proteins comprise mutations that impart altered O.sub.2 or NO ligand-binding relative to the corresponding wild-type HNOX domain, and are operative as physiologically compatible mammalian blood O.sub.2 gas carriers. The invention also provides pharmaceutical compositions, kits, and methods that use wild-type or mutant HNOX proteins for the treatment of any condition for which delivery of O.sub.2 is beneficial.

A standard material that is used for judging an abnormal portion in a particle analyzer is described. The standard material comprises first standard particles to be fluorescence-stained by a fluorescence-staining treatment and second standard particles that have preliminarily contained a fluorescence dye. A method and an analyzer that can judge an abnormal portion in a particle analyzer by using such a standard material are also described.