Chisso starts sales of aequorin reagents for immunoassay

 

Chisso Corporation (Head office: Otemachi, Chiyoda-ward, Tokyo; President: Shunichi Okada) has started sales of new aequorin reagents for immunoassays as of January 2008. Aequorin is a calcium-binding photoprotein which emits light upon reacting with a trace amount of Ca²⁺. These reagents can detect an antigen with a higher sensitivity in a diagnostic assay when compared to conventional reagents.

 

Immunoassays have been used in various situations such as environmental inspection, food evaluation and clinical examination. The immunoassay method is a technique to capture a substance (antigen) using the antibody with the specific binding and then detect the antigen by measuring absorbance or fluorescent and luminescent activity. The chemiluminescent method has been mainly used for immunoassays. Chisso's bioluminescent reagents of aequorin containing the luminescent substrate have the following advantages by comparison with conventional luminescent reagents:

 

>Since aequorin reacts with calcium ions only, there is little luminescent noise (Only luminescence objective substance).

>Due to the flashlight reaction of aequorin, a trace amount of the target substance can be detected in a short period of time (typically a few seconds).

>Since aequorin emits light only by the addition of calcium ions, it is not necessary to prepare a reagent for detection.

 

Chisso has established the method to detect a cancer marker using aequorin in an immunoassay and demonstrated it has low luminescent noise along with high detection sensitivity.

 

Chisso has started selling two reagents; "Aequorin for labeling" and "Biotin labeled aequorin^*1". Chisso also accepts preparing aequorin preconjugated with the antibody^*2.

 

Chisso will continue to develop better and more varied detection methods using aequorin's flash luminescence.

 

 

^*1 Aequorin was labeled chemically with biotin. Target substances can be efficiently detected by biotinylated aequorin through the complex of biotinylated antibody and avidin.

 

^*2 Target substances can be detected by using aequorin labeled antibody directly; without biotin or other reagents.