Biacore International has launched a new rapid screening kit for detecting residues of the banned drug Chloramphenicol in food.
The Qflex Kit Chloramphenicol provides a tool for routine screening of this bannedantibiotic drug in food products of animal origin.
To prevent chemical residues entering the food chain, both producers and government surveillance schemes need technology and methods that providerapid, accurate results that are also reliable at the required sensitivity.
The company says that Biacore Q, a system for Concentration Analysis, combined with its sensor chip technology and the Qflex kits, are making their mark in this area. Enhancing both the reliable detection of chemical contaminantsand the ability of the food industry to ensure food safety and quality.
"The availability of this precise, highly sensitive kit will enable those involved in food manufacturing and quality assurance to reliably detect Chloramphenicol to very low levels in animal matrices," said Esa Stenberg,vice president and head of Biocore's Food Business Unit. "This is importantto satisfy customer concerns on food safety, fulfil statutory testing requirements and to crucially allow the monitoring of meat product imports for this chemical contaminant."
The use of Chloramphenicol in human medicine is associated with the development of aplastic anemia, a rare but serious blood disorder, resulting in the "unexplained" failure of bone marrow to produce blood cells. As aresult, Chloramphenicol is banned from use in veterinary medicine. The drug may also be carcinogenic.
Public health concerns exist that the drug is still widely available in developing countries and in common use in animal production. Recently,Chloramphenicol residues have been detected in various foodstuffs imported into the European Union from Asian countries. Products affected include poultry, shrimps and honey.
The combination of Biacore Q and Qflex Kit Chloramphenicol is said to facilitateroutine end user detection of Chloramphenicol residues in meat, shellfish, milk and honey. Providing an alternative to traditional methods,the assay is an automated, label-free inhibition method of reducing the risk of experimental errors. Sample preparation is minimal. Qflex kits also provide the flexibility required for further method development if required.
Qflex Kit Chloramphenicol contains a sensor chip and all critical reagents required to perform the inhibition assay, including a reference standard.The new Chloramphenicol kit is an addition to the Qflex Kit portfolio for drug residues, which includes clenbuterol, ractopamine, streptomycin, sulfamethazine and sulfadiazine.
Based in Sweden, Biacore is a global market leader in Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR)technology based systems with its own sales operations in the US, acrossEurope, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. A strong patent portfolio protectsBiacore's SPR technology, which gives real-time insights intobiomolecular interactions. Target groups for the Company's products consistprimarily of medical and life science research laboratories andpharmaceutical and biotechnology companies around the world.
