Description
bFGF (basic fibroblast growth factor) is found in almost all tissues of mesodermal and neuroectodermal origin and also in tumors derived from these tissues. Endothelial cells produce large amounts of this factor. Some bFGF is associated with the extracellular matrix of the subendothelial cells. bFGF is an 18 kDa protein with a length of 155 amino acids and an isoelectric point of 9.6. It does not contain disulfide bonds and is not glycosylated. bFGF stimulates the growth of fibroblasts, myoblasts, osteoblasts, neuronal cells, endothelial cells, keratinocytes, chondrocytes, and many other cell types. bFGF has been shown to be a promoting or inhibitory modulator of cellular differentiation also for other cell types. bFGF is not only a mitogen for chondrocytes but also inhibits their terminal differentiation. The BioVendor Human bFGF ELISA kit is an in vitro enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the quantitative measurement of human bFGF in serum, plasma, and cell culture supernatants. This assay employs an antibody specific for human bFGF coated on a 96-well plate. Standards and samples are pipetted into the wells and bFGF present in a sample is bound to the wells by the immobilized antibody. The wells are washed and biotinylated antihuman bFGF antibody is added. After washing away unbound biotinylated antibody, HRPconjugated streptavidin is pipetted to the wells. The wells are again washed, a TMB substrate solution is added to the wells and color develops in proportion to the amount of bFGF bound. The Stop Solution changes the color from blue to yellow, and the intensity of the color is measured at 450 nm