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In-Vitro Diagnostic

Free Radicals Kit

Free Radicals Assay Kit is intended for the quantitative estimation of total free radicals in human serum. This kit enables spectrophotometric detection of free radicals in tubes as well as on a microtitration plate.

Free Radicals Assay Kit contains all necessary reagents for quantitative determination of free radicals (FR).

Time required for the sample incubation: 15 min
Calibration scale range: 1.5 – 12.0 mmol/l Fe2+
Limit of detection: 0.71 mmol/l
Sensitivity: 1.9 x 10-3∆A per 1 mmol/l Fe2+
Reference limits: 4.46 ± 1.38 mmol/l

Free radicals are atoms, molecules or ions with unpaired electrons on an open shell configuration. When free radicals steal an electron from a surrounding compound or molecule a new free radical is formed in its place and the free radical thus formed immediately returns to its ground state by stealing electrons with anti-parallel spins from other molecules or structures. Due to the fact that an unpaired electron of FR cause them to be highly chemically reactive, they react non-specifically and rapidly with bio-molecules, including DNA, lipids, proteins and carbohydrates, and can cause molecular damage such as DNA mutations, lipid peroxidation and protein oxidation.

The source of free radicals is both internal and external. In an organism, free radicals play a key role in so called oxidative burst and also in an unavoidable consequence of aerobic processes such as mitochondrial respiratory chain. These functions of FR can be considered as positive action in contrast to all types of stress reactions in organism, which generate FR without any control mechanism. In organism, there is a balance between VR and antioxidants under physiological conditions. An disturbance of this balance leads to oxidative stress which occurs during the increased production of VR or insufficient antioxidant protective system.

Clinical manifestation of oxidative stress has been linked to many diseases, including diabetes, cancer, atherosclerosis, neurodegenerative diseases, hypertension, Crohn disease and many others.

External negative sources of FR involve UV-light, smoking, and various environmental pollutants.

The assay is based on the ability of chlorophyllin (sodium-cooper salt of chlorophyll) to receive and provide electrons by simultaneous and stable change of its absorbance maximum. This effect is conditioned by alkaline pH of the reaction and addition of a catalyst. The quantification of received values is facilitated by the calibration that is based on the capability of Fe ion to spontaneously change its valence in alkaline solution from Fe2+ to Fe3+. The concentration of calibrators is therefore expressed as mmol/L Fe2+.