Ethyl phosphate, alkaline phosphatases

Detection reagent (substrate) for enzyme-labeled antibody 2,2-azino-di(3-ethyl-benzthiazohne sulfonate-6) (ABTS) 0.3 g/L in 0.15 M sodium citrate with 0.1% H2O2 for the detection of horseradish peroxidase-labeled secondary antibody or p-nitrophenyl phosphate (pNPP) 1 g/L in 1M diethanolamine in water for the detection of an alkaline phosphatase-labeled antibody (Kirkegaard and Perry Laboratories). 

Substrate products can be classified as either soluble or precipitating. Soluble peroxidase substrates include o-phenylenediamine, which is converted into a yellow product 2,2 -azino-(3-ethyl)-benzothiazoline-sulfonic acid, which is converted into a green product and tetramethylbenzidine, which is converted into a blue product. Precipitating substrates for peroxidase include 4-chloronaphthol, which yields a blue precipitate and aminoethylcarbizole, which forms a red precipitate. Alkaline phosphatase is most frequently used with p-nitrophenyl phosphate to give a yellow-orange soluble product, or with 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indo-lyl-phosphate p-toluidine salt to yield an insoluble blue product. 

Common chromogen systems currently in use include diaminobenzidine (DAB), 3-amino-9-ethyl-carbazole (AEC), Hanker-Yates reagent, alpha-naphthol pyronin used with peroxidase as substrate fast blue, fast red, BCIP- (5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl phosphate) NBT (nitroblue tetrazolium) used with alkaline phosphatase as substrate tetrazolium, tetranitroblue tetrazolium used with glucose oxidase as substrate, and immunogold with silver enhancement (Leong, 1993 Leong et al, 1997a). 

In 1950 Seligman and his co-workers (S13) suggested the use of sodium j8-naphthyl phosphate as a substrate for the determination of acid or alkaline phosphatase activity. For the former, 1 ml of 1 20 diluted serum was added to 5 ml of 0.4 mM sodium 8-naphthyl phosphate in 0.1 M acetate buffer of pH 4.8, and the reaction was allowed to proceed for 2 hours at 37.5°C. The addition of 4 drops of IM sodium carbonate solution served to retard the reaction as well as to raise the pH to the optimal level for coupling with 1 ml of a solution of tetrazotized ortho-dianisidine. After 3 minutes, the protein was precipitated with trichloroacetic acid, the dye extracted with ethyl acetate, and the color density determined in the region of 540 nm. The unit of phosphatase activity was defined as that amount of enzyme which liberates the color equivalent of 10 ml of j8-naphthol per hour at 37.5° in 1 hour. The serum acid phosphatase in a group of normal adults ranged from 0.7 to 1.6 units and averaged 1.0 unit per 100 ml of serum. 

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