Description
Introduction: Insulin is a peptide hormone composed of 51 amino acid residues and has a molecular weight of 5808 Da. It is produced in the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas. Insulin's structure varies slightly between species of animal. Insulin has extensive effects on both metabolism and several other body systems (eg, vascular compliance). Insulin causes most of the body's cells to take up glucose from the blood (including liver, muscle, and fat tissue cells), storing it as glycogen in the liver and muscle, and stops use of fat as an energy source. When insulin is absent (or low), glucose is not taken up by most body cells and the body begins to use fat as an energy source (ie, transfer of lipids from adipose tissue to the liver for mobilization as an energy source). As its level is a central metabolic control mechanism, its status is also used as a control signal to other body systems (such as amino acid uptake by body cells). It has several other anabolic effects throughout the body.
Principle of the Assay: The microtiter plate provided in this kit has been pre-coated with an goat-anti-rabbit antibody. Standards or samples are then added to the appropriate microtiter plate wells with a HRP conjugated INS and antibody preparation specific for INS and incubated. Then substrate solutions are added to each well. The enzyme-substrate reaction is terminated by the addition of a sulphuric acid solution and the color change is measured spectrophotometrically at a wavelength of 450 nm +/- 2 nm. The concentration of INS in the samples is then determined by comparing the O.D. of the samples to the standard curve