Cortisol ELISA

Background:Cortisol is a corticosteroid hormone or glucocorticoid produced by the adrenal cortex that is part of the adrenal gland (in the Zona fasciculata and the Zona reticularis of the adrenal cortex). It is usually referred to as the "stress hormone" as it is involved in response to stress. 90% of the cortisol is bound to cortisol-binding globulins (CBG), around 7% to Albumin and the rest is free (1). Among the products of the human adrenal cortex, only cortisol is involved in the regulation of ACTH secretion. As the level of free (non-protein bound) cortisol in blood rises, the release of ACTH is inhibited by the negative feedback effect. Conversely, if cortisol levels are subnormal, the negative feedback decreases, ACTH levels rise, and the adrenal cortex secretes cortisol until normal blood levels are restored. The release of ACTH is under control of hypothalamic corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH); the negative feedback system involving cortisol has been identified at both hypothalamic and pituitary levels.

Description:
The Cortisol ELISA Kit is a solid phase enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), based on the principle of competitive binding. The microtiter wells are coated with an anti-cortisol antibody. An unknown amount of cortisol present in the sample competes with a cortisol-horseradish peroxidase conjugate for binding to the coated antibody. After incubation the unbound conjugate is washed off. The amount of bound peroxidase conjugate is inversely proportional to the concentration of cortisol in the sample. After addition of the substrate solution, the intensity of color developed is inversely proportional to the concentration of cortisol in the sample.

Product features:
The kit contains reagents for 96 determinations;
Microtiter plate consisting of 12x8 (break-apart) strips;
Microtiter plate reader at 450 nm;
Assay dynamic range: 10 - 800 ng/ml;
IVD