Author(s)

Kevin G. McGarry, Ryan A. Bartlett, Nicholas J. Machesky, Thomas H. Snider, Robert A. Moyer, David T. Yeung, Matthew K. Brittain

Battelle Biomedical Research Center, Battelle Memorial Institute, Columbus, USA.
National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Bethesda, USA.

Acetylcholine is an essential neurotransmitter found throughout the nervous system. Its action on postsynaptic receptors is regulated through hydrolysis by various carboxylesterases, especially cholinesterases (ChEs). The acute toxicity of organophosphate (OP) compounds is directly linked to their action as inhibitors of ChE. One widely used assay for evaluating ChE activity is a spectrophotometric method developed by Ellman et al. When the enzyme source is from tissues or, in particular, blood, hemoglobin displays a spectrophotometric peak at the same wave-length used to analyze cholinergic activity. This creates a substantial background that interferes with the Ellman’s assay and must be overcome in order to accurately monitor cholinesterase activity. Herein, we directly compare blood processing methods: classical method (1.67 ± 0.30 U/mL) and HemogloBind^TM treatment (1.51 ± 0.17 U/mL), and clearly demonstrate that pretreatment of blood samples with Hemoglobind^TM is both a sufficient and rapid sample preparation method for the assessment of ChE activity using the Ellman’s method.

Acetylcholinesterase; Cholinesterase; HemogloBind^TM; Sample Preparation; Hemoglobin

McGarry, K. , Bartlett, R. , Machesky, N. , Snider, T. , Moyer, R. , Yeung, D. and Brittain, M. (2013) Evaluation of HemogloBind^TM treatment for preparation of samples for cholinesterase analysis. Advances in Bioscience and Biotechnology, 4, 1020-1023. doi: 10.4236/abb.2013.412136.