DOPAMINE ELISA KIT

Dopamine ELISA kit is intended detecting in vitro quantitative levels of dopamine (hydroxytyramine) in plasma and urine samples. This assay has a minimum sensitivity detection limit of 1.9 ng/ml (plasma) and 2.5 ng/ml (urine).

The minimum sensitivity detection limit of dopamine (hydroxytyramine) using this dopamine ELISA kit was approximately 2.5 ng/ml (urine) and 1.9 ng/ml (plasma). The dynamic assay range for this kit is 10 – 2,000 ng/ml.

Dopamine (also referred to as hydroxytyramine) is a nitrogen containing organic compound which is produced as an intermediate compound from dihydroxyphenylalanine (dopa). It is one of the catecholamine neurotransmitters in the brain, which can be derived from tyrosine and is a precursor to adrenaline (epinephrine) and noradrenaline (norepinephrine). Dopamine has a major function as a neurotransmitter where it has the ability to inhibit the transmission of nerve impulses in basal ganglia, substantia nigra and the corpus striatum of the brain. There are a family of dopamine receptors which are responsible for mediating its action, where dopamine binds alpha-1 and beta-1 adrenergic receptors.

Dopamine is a chemical in your brain that is responsible for affecting your emotions, movements, sensations of pleasure and pain. It is a neurotransmitter which is located in the deep middle region of the brain which is known as the substantia nigra. A deficiency of dopamine is linked with cellular death in the substantia nigra which can lead to Parkinson disease. Even any abnormalities in dopamine transmission, for example hyperactive dopamine transmission in certain parts of the brain, have been associated with psychotic syndromes (e.g. schizophrenia). However, dopaminergic structures within the brain (mainly the nucleus accumbens and the striatum) have been implicated in reward related behaviour.

This ELISA assay is based on a competitive procedure and dopamine has been extracted using a cis-diol-specific affinity gel, acylated and then enzymatically derivatized. Due to the fact that the chemical structure of catecholamines is identical in all animals and the performance of a pre-extraction step means that this kit is able to be used for a wide range of animal species.