Description
Introduction: Estrogens are a group of steroid compounds, named for their importance in the estrous cycle, and functioning as the primary female sex hormone, their name comes from estrus/oistros (period of fertility for female mammals) + gen/gonos = to generate. Estrogens are used as part of some oral contraceptives, in estrogen replacement therapy for postmenopausal women, and in hormone replacement therapy for trans women. Like all steroid hormones, estrogens readily diffuse across the cell membrane. Once inside the cell, they bind to and activate estrogen receptors which in turn up-regulate the expression of many genes. Additionally, estrogens have been shown to activate a G protein-coupled receptor, GPR30.
Principle of the Assay: This assay employs the competitive inhibition enzyme immunoassay technique. The microtiter plate provided in this kit has been pre-coated with goat-anti-rabbit antibody. Standards or samples are added to the appropriate microtiter plate wells with an antibody specific for estrogen and Horseradish Peroxidase (HRP) conjugated estrogen, then incubated. Then substrate solutions are added to the wells, respectively. 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 estrogen in the samples is then determined by comparing the O.D. of the samples to the standard curve