2-CAT (Adrenaline/Noradrenaline) Elisa Kit

• Reactivity: Any Species
• Sensitivity: AD: 0.3 ng/ml (Urine); 10 pg/ml (Plasma) and NAD: 1.5 ng/ml (Urine); 50 pg/ml (Plasma)

Adrenaline which is also referred to as epinephrine is mainly produced in the adrenal medulla and therefore is mostly acting as a hormone, however, there are small quantities that are made in the nerve fibres which have the ability to act as neurotransmitter. Noradrenaline which is also called norepinephrine is both a hormone and one of the most common neurotransmitter of the sympathetic nervous system. Noradrenaline and adrenaline are both catecholamines.

In general, naturally occurring norepinephrine is predominately produced inside nerve axons (usually in the shaft of the nerve) and then stored inside structure that are called vesicles (these are small fluid-filled sacs) until they are released when an action potential (in most cases an electrical pulse) travels down the nerve. One of the main functions of norepinephrine is to cause vasoconstriction (a process resulting in the narrowing of blood vessels), this is useful for either maintaining or even increasing blood pressure (during time of stress). Norepinephrine can also be produced in the adrenal medulla where it is synthesised from dopamine and is the mostly released into the blood as a hormone.

Adrenaline (epinephrine) can be produced from norepinephrine that is located inside the adrenal medulla (the inner part of the adrenal gland which is a small gland associated with the kidneys). The synthesis of epinephrine increases during times of stress, where our adrenal medulla is helping us to cope with emotional or physical stress. Epinephrine has the ability to act on almost all body tissues, but its effects can be different depending on the tissue it is acting on, for example contracts the blood vessels (in order to increase blood pressure) but is able to relax the breathing tubes (in order to allow easier breathing).

This is a competitive ELISA assay where adrenaline (epinephrine) and noradrenaline (norepinephrine) have been extracted through a cis-diol-specific affinity gel, acylated and then derivatized enzymatically.

2-CAT (epinephrine/norepinephrine) ELISA kit is a reliable and accurate in vitro quantitative procedure for analysing adrenaline (epinephrine) and noradrenaline (norepinephrine) in plasma and urine samples. This assay has a minimum sensitivity detection limit of 10 pg/ml (plasma) or 0.3 ng/ml (urine) for AD and 50 pg/ml (plasma) or 1.5 ng/ml (urine) for NAD.

The minimum sensitivity detection limit of adrenaline (epinephrine) and noradrenaline (norepinephrine) using this 2-CAT (epinephrine/norepinephrine) ELISA kit was approximately 50 pg/ml (plasma) or 1.5 ng/ml (urine) for NAD and 10 pg/ml (plasma) or 0.3 ng/ml (urine) for AD. The dynamic assay range for this kit is AD: 1 – 200 ng/ml and NAD: 5 – 1,000 ng/ml.