Products

Nickel and cobalt assays

Nickel (Ni++) and cobalt (Co++) are essential metal ions in biological systems.   Many enzymes such as

methionine aminopeptidase and glucose isomerase contain cobalt.  Some other enzymes such as ureases

from bactaria and plants use nickel as a cofactor.  Synthesis of Ni / Co enzymes and coenzyme B12

requires high-affinity uptake of the metal ions from natural environments.  In bacteria, Ni and Co uptake is

mediated by secondary transporters and ATP-binding cassette systems.  Understanding the differences

between cobalt and nickel transporters might lead to drug development for gastritis and peptic ulceration.

NanoMolar Nickel / Cobalt Assay Kit  

The NanoMolar Nickel / Cobalt Assay Kit is for measurement of nanomolar concentrations of nickel or cobalt

(10 nM – 500 nM).  The assay is based on the principle that binding the fluorescence dye NMA with nickel or

cobalt ions results in decrease of the fluorescence intensity (emission 535 nm, excitation 485 nm).  Other

metal ions including Mg2+, Ca2+, Zn2+,  Mn2+,  Al3+,  Cu2+ and  Ag+ give much lower assay sensitivity.

Chelators such EDTA and thiol compounds bind strongly some of the metal ions and should be avoided in

the assay.

The assay kit can be used for high-throughput measurements of nickel or cobalt concentrations in biological

samples or environmental water samples.  The kit can also be used for biochemical assays of enzyme

assays associated with nickel or cobalt metabolism.