Glucose, a monosaccharide (or simple sugar), is the most important carbohydrate in biology. Transported via the blood stream, it is the primary source of energy for the body’s cells. Glucose level is tightly regulated in the human body. Failure to maintain blood glucose in the normal range leads to conditions of persistently high (hyperglycemia) or low (hypoglycemia) blood sugar. Diabetes mellitus, characterized by persistent hyperglycemia, is the most prominent disease related to failure of blood sugar regulation. Cayman’s Glucose Colorimetric Assay Kit provides a simple, reproducible, and sensitive tool for assaying glucose in plasma, serum, and urine. The glucose assay uses the glucose oxidase-peroxide reaction for the determination of glucose concentrations. In this assay, glucose is oxidized to δ-gluconolactone with concomitant reduction of the flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD)-dependent enzyme glucose oxidase. The reduced form of glucose oxidase is regenerated to its oxidized form by molecular oxygen to produce hydrogen peroxide. Finally, with horseradish peroxidase as a catalyst, hydrogen peroxide reacts with 3,5-dichloro-2-hydroxybenzenesulfonic acid and 4-aminoantipyrine to generate a pink dye with an optimal absorption at 514 nm.
