Detection of hydrolyzing enzymes
AssigneeBoehringer Mannheim GmbH
InventorMiroslav Ceska
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Abstract
The activity, or concentration, of a hydrolyzing enzyme, e.g., an endo-enzyme, is determined by providing a detection layer comprising a carrier matrix and a water-insoluble substrate dispersed in said carrier matrix which substrate is detectably marked, e.g., dyed, and which substrate, upon action of a hydrolyzing enzyme thereon, is broken down into soluble fragments capable of diffusing through the carrier matrix to cause formation of an unmarked area in said detection layer; and measuring the size of the unmarked area as a measure of the activity of concentration of said enzyme.
Claims3
Method for the detection of the activity, or concentration, of a hydrolyzing enzyme selected from the group consisting of alpha-amylase, dextranase, and papain, which method comprises applying a solution of said hydrolyzing enzyme onto a detection layer consisting essentially of a carrier matrix gel inert to the enzyme and permitting diffusion of substrate fragments therein and, dispersed throughout said matrix gel, a dyed intermolecularly cross-linked substrate selected from the group consisting of starch, dextran, cellulose and albumin, cross-linked with a diepoxide to render the substrate insoluble in the matrix gel, and measuring the size of an unmarked area formed in said gel due to fragmentation and diffusion of the dyed substrate by action of the enzyme thereon, as a measure of the amount of concentration of said enzyme.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.