The TECO™ Salmonid Ultra-Sensitive Vitellogenin ELISA Kit is an ultra-sensitive sandwich enzyme linked immunosorbent assay for the quantitative determination of vitellogenin in serum, whole body homogenate, mucus, and cell cultures of salmonids.

The test is suitable for use with Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), Brown trout (Salmo trutta), Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), Chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta), Pink salmon/Humpback salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha), Brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) and Coregonus species.

The testing range of the Ultra-Sensitive kit is  0.012 ng/ml - 1 ng/ml Vitellogenin making it suitable for testing juvenile fish. Also, by using a highly sensitive ELISA in combination with an unique sampling and extraction system the determination of of Vitellogenin in mucus has the following advantages:

• Simple and highly standardized sampling technique and sample preparation.
• Strictly defined matrix without protease contamination caused by non-target tissues or lymphatic fluid.
• Non-destructive and thereby allowing several subsequent samplings in order to record a kinetic of Vitellogenin induction with a maximum known to appear within 1-2 weeks after exposure. Therefore mucosa tests are compatible with acute as well as chronical OECD test methods.
• Epithelial organized epidermis is directly exposed to exogenous estrogens and thereby allowing a direct comparison with in vitro test using estrogen sensitive vitellogenin producing fish cell lines.

Using mucus as a sample is a much easier way of sampling compared to conventional sampling techniques in juvenille fish, and offers the possibility of repeat testing as the fish develops making it particularly suitable for the OECD (2011), Test No.234 Sexual Development test