| Field | Specification |
|---|---|
| Mfr No | |
| Alternative Names | VA |
| Assay Time | |
| Assay Type | |
| Detection Method | |
| Product Type | |
| Reactivity | |
| Sample Type(s) | Cell culture supernatants, Serum, Plasma, Other biological fluids |
| Shipping | |
| Storage |
Features & Benefits
Rat Vitamin A (VA) ELISA Kit has high sensitivity and excellent specificity for detection of Rat VA. No significant cross-reactivity or interference between Rat VA and analogues was observed.
Background
Vitamin A is a group of unsaturated nutritional organic compounds that includes retinol, retinal, retinoic acid, and several provitamin A carotenoids (most notably beta-carotene). Vitamin A has multiple functions: it is important for growth and development, for the maintenance of the immune system and good vision.Vitamin A is needed by the retina of the eye in the form of retinal, which combines with protein opsin to form rhodopsin, the light-absorbing molecule necessary for both low-light (scotopic vision) and color vision. Vitamin A also functions in a very different role as retinoic acid (an irreversibly oxidized form of retinol), which is an important hormone-like growth factor for epithelial and other cells.
In foods of animal origin, the major form of vitamin A is an ester, primarily retinyl palmitate, which is converted to retinol (chemically an alcohol) in the small intestine. The retinol form functions as a storage form of the vitamin, and can be converted to and from its visually active aldehyde form, retinal.
All forms of vitamin A have a beta-ionone ring to which an isoprenoid chain is attached, called a retinyl group. Both structural features are essential for vitamin activity.The orange pigment of carrots (beta-carotene) can be represented as two connected retinyl groups, which are used in the body to contribute to vitamin A levels. Alpha-carotene and gamma-carotene also have a single retinyl group, which give them some vitamin activity. None of the other carotenes have vitamin activity. The carotenoid beta-cryptoxanthin possesses an ionone group and has vitamin activity in humans.
Vitamin A can be found in two principal forms in foods:
Retinol, the form of vitamin A absorbed when eating animal food sources, is a yellow, fat-soluble substance. Since the pure alcohol form is unstable, the vitamin is found in tissues in a form of retinyl ester. It is also commercially produced and administered as esters such as retinyl acetate or palmitate.
The carotenes alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, gamma-carotene; and the xanthophyll beta-cryptoxanthin (all of which contain beta-ionone rings), but no other carotenoids, function as provitamin A in herbivores and omnivore animals, which possess the enzyme beta-carotene 15,15'-dioxygenase which cleaves beta-carotene in the intestinal mucosa and converts it to retinol.[9] In general, carnivores are poor converters of ionone-containing carotenoids, and pure carnivores such as cats and ferrets lack beta-carotene 15,15'-dioxygenase and cannot convert any carotenoids to retinal (resulting in none of the carotenoids being forms of vitamin A for these species).
This Vitamin A (VA) ELISA kit is validated for use with Cell culture supernatants, Serum, Plasma, Other biological fluids. Samples should be collected, processed, and stored correctly to preserve analyte integrity — avoid repeated freeze-thaw cycles and centrifuge to remove particulates before use. Dilute samples exceeding the kit's detection range using the supplied assay diluent. Hemolytic, icteric, or lipemic samples may affect assay performance and should be tested with caution.
This is a sandwich ELISA kit employing an HRP (horseradish peroxidase)-conjugated secondary antibody paired with a TMB (3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine) colorimetric substrate. In the sandwich format, the target analyte Vitamin A (VA) captured on the microplate surface is detected by the conjugated antibody, generating a colorimetric signal proportional to analyte concentration. The reaction is stopped and absorbance measured at 450 nm on a standard microplate reader.
The complete protocol, from sample addition to final plate reading, requires approximately 3–5 hours. This includes two incubation periods (analyte binding and detection antibody steps), intermediate wash cycles to remove unbound material, 15–30 minutes of TMB substrate development, and final stop-solution addition before absorbance reading. Exact timing will vary with experience level and the number of samples processed in parallel.
Required equipment: (1) a microplate spectrophotometer capable of reading absorbance at 450 nm (reference wavelength 540–570 nm recommended for background correction); (2) precision single-channel or multichannel pipettes; (3) a plate washer or multichannel aspirator; (4) a microcentrifuge for sample clarification; and (5) a 37°C incubator or stable room-temperature environment. No fluorescence or luminescence reader is required — standard colorimetric plate readers are fully compatible with this kit.
This ELISA kit is formally validated for Rat. Cross-reactivity with species not listed in the specification has not been independently characterized. Variability in protein sequence homology across species means that performance in unlisted species cannot be guaranteed without additional validation. For cross-species detection requirements or non-standard sample matrices, please contact BioHippo support or refer to the manufacturer's technical team for guidance.
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