Pholasin®

Pholasin^® is a unique light-emitting protein; such proteins are called photoproteins. KSL has for many years been carrying out research into the mechanism of action and applications of Pholasin^® in clinical chemistry. The property that sets it apart from other luminescent reagents, and which KSL is exploiting, is in relation to its unique ability to detect the biochemical status of activated white blood cells (WBCs). It can also detect the presence of damaging, long-lived oxidants produced by such cells.

Pholasin^®, the key element of most ABEL^® products has a number of specific features which make products containing it far superior to anything else in the world.

• It is an ultrasensitive luminescent detector of superoxide, capable of measuring fmol concentrations at physiological pH.
• It also emits light with: hydroxyl radical, singlet oxygen, peroxynitrite, halogenations oxidants such as hypochlorous and hypobromous acids and the longer-lived oxidant n-chlorotaurine.
• Pholasin^® also reacts with peroxidase enzymes such as myeloperoxide, salivary peroxidase and horse radish peroxidase and assays have been developed for quantifying these enzymes in physiological media.
• It can be used with minute samples of blood (or with very few WBCs) and so is suitable for analysis of the tiny amount of blood that can be safely taken from premature babies or small laboratory animals.