On-site enzymatic activity test
A test strip for dipping into an enzymatic solution to provide information on its enzymatic activity. Can be read by the naked eye using a binary color system similar to a Ph test, or to provide semi-quantitative information using a camera integrated into a reading device.
Benefits
- Responsive quality control
- Less test logistics to contend with
- Increases the number of tests that can be carried out
- No special skills required
- More robust under operational conditions on production lines
- Quick and easy on-site test
Issue
In all the fields using enzymes (agri-food, pharmaceutical, industrial chemistry, etc.), carrying out quality control directly at the site or on the production line is difficult. To test the enzymatic activity of a sample, said sample is sent to a laboratory, resulting in significant logistics costs, long waiting times for results (lack of responsiveness) or reliance on the supplier.
Enzymatic solutions are sensitive to their packaging, storage, transport and other conditions that can influence their effectiveness over time. This may then result in a drop in the activity of these solutions. Due to the lack of easily usable tests, enzymatic solutions are often used in excessive quantities to compensate for any potential drop in enzymatic activity.
Solution
The solution developed enables enzymatic activity tests to be carried out quickly and precisely at production sites, without the use of any laboratory equipment. The robustness of the product makes it particularly suited to a production environment.
This solution is composed of a strip with printed polymers. As in a Ph test, enzymatic activity is indicated qualitatively with a binary (or colored) indicator or semi-quantitatively through a camera integrated into the reading device. The most commonly used reagents (e.g. arabinoxylan, beta-glucan, etc.) are available, with others able to be developed on request.
Depending on the information required (qualitative or semi-quantitative), simple strips that can be read with the naked eye or a reading device can be sold (for example in packs of 50 test strips with or without a reading device). The logistical costs and responsiveness of testing are thus greatly improved (e.g. from 1 day down to 1 hour).
These strips can also be used to increase the number of quality control tests carried out quickly at a low cost and to optimize the quantity of enzymatic solution used, or to test the quality and activity of the enzymatic solutions produced.