Cocaine metabolite assay

• Format
  Liquid ready to use
• Assay Range
  _
• Working Stability 15-25 °C
  _
• Working Stability 2-8 °C
  28 days
• Material Safety Data Sheets
  

Intended Use

The Cocaine Metabolite assay is an in vitro diagnostic reagent. For the qualitative and semi-quantitative analysis of Benzoylecgonine (cocaine metabolite) in human urine. The cut-off for the qualitative application is 300ng/ml in accordance with SAMHSA recommendations. This product is suitable for use on the RX Series instruments which includes the Rx Daytona and Rx Imola.

This assay provides only a preliminary result. Clinical consideration and professional judgement should be applied to any drug of abuse test result, particularly in evaluating a preliminary positive result. To obtain a confirmed analytical result, a more specific alternate chemical method is needed. Gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy (GC/MS) is the recommended confirmatory method.


Clinical Significance

Cocaine (methylbenzoylecgonine) is an alkaloid found in the plant Erythroxylon coca, which is principally grown in South America. It is chemically, but not pharmacologically, related to atropine.

Cocaine is a CNS stimulant; however, it also exhibits numerous undesirable side effects including cardiac toxicity and behaviour responses such as paranoia and hallucinations. The most important action of cocaine clinically is its ability to block nerve conductance upon local application.

Cocaine sold on the street includes the hydrochloride salt and crack cocaine. The salt is frequently abused by inhalation or intravenous injection. Crack is a free base form of cocaine that produces a characteristic cracking sound when smoked.

Cocaine is rapidly metabolized with less than 5% excreted unchanged in urine. The major metabolite is benzoylecgonine. Other notable metabolites are methylecgonine and ecgonine. Cocaine metabolites are detectable in urine for 1-3 days after moderate use. However for long term, heavy use, the metabolites may be found in urine for up to 3 weeks. Cocaine readily passes through the placenta into the foetus. Cocaine abuse during pregnancy can adversely affect the foetal development and cause serious problems in the neonate.


Principle

The assay is based on competition between drug in the sample and drug labelled with the enzyme glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH) for a fixed amount of antibody in the reagent. Enzyme activity decreases upon binding to the antibody, and the drug concentration in the sample is measured in terms of enzyme activity.

In the absence of drug in the sample, benzoylecgonine-labelled G6PDH conjugate is bound to antibody, and the enzyme activity is inhibited. On the other hand, when free drug is present in the sample, antibody would bind to free drug; the unbound benzoylecgonine-labelled G6PDH then exhibits its maximal enzyme activity.

Active enzyme converts nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) to NADH, resulting in an absorbance change that can be measured spectrophotometrically at 340 nm.

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