Why is testing for Tartaric Acid important in winemaking?
Why is testing for Tartaric Acid important in winemaking?
31 January 2020
Tartaric Acid testing in winemaking
Why is testing for Tartaric Acid important in winemaking?
Tartaric Acid is a unique acid that is not commonly found in fruit, however it is a primary acid component in grapes. It is one key acid that is monitored during the fermentation process as it plays a vital role in the stability of the wine and its pH levels.
Tartaric acid combines with Potassium to create Potassium Titrate which then precipitate and causes the acidity to drop and the pH levels to rise. It is found in significant concentrations in grapes, but this can vary based on factors including the variety of grape and the vineyard soil content.
Tartaric acid plays a key role in the stability of wines and influences the taste, colour and odour of the final product. A high tartaric content in a final bottled wine is indicative of the wine being unstable, due to this, it is important for winemakers to monitor the levels of this acid present in wine.
Generally, it has been recognised that between 0.5-10 g/l is the average acceptable level and the Randox Food Diagnostics kit for measuring tartaric acid allows winemakers to measure between to this range.
Randox Food Diagnostics offer multiple tests for wine analysis including Tartaric Acid on both the RX misano and the RX monaco.
| Method | No. of Tests | Catalogue No. | Sensitivity | Linearity |
| Manual | 50 | TK4060 | N/A | N/A |
| RX misano | 100 | TK4060 | 0.51 g/l | 10.00 g/l |
| RX Monaco | N/A | TK4060 | On request | On request |
For more information on wine and other food testing please contact us at: info@randoxfooddiagnostics.com
Want to know more?
Contact us or visit our Randox Food Diagnostics website.
Related Products
Meat & Seafood
Milk
Honey
Wine
The 2019 World Drug Report from Randox Toxicology
24 January 2020
2019 World Drug Report
In the turn of the new year, Randox Toxicology have compiled a 2019 report of trends in drug abuse throughout the world and what the key figures say about drug use in the world.
Opioids
An easy way of seeing how prevalent opioid use is, is the number of opioid overdose deaths. While surveys show an overall decline in the non-medical use of opioids, opioid related deaths continue to increase. The United States recorded the highest number of opioid overdose deaths at over 28,000. Europe is not as heavily affected by opioid use, an example being Sweden. Sweden has the highest number of opioid overdose deaths in Europe, at 590.
Cocaine
Global seizures rose to 1,275 tons, the largest quantity ever reported. This figure highlights the increase in cocaine trafficking. With an estimated 4.2 million people (1.3 per cent of the population) using cocaine, usage of the drug was highest in Western and Central Europe, which accounted for some 90 per cent of all the cocaine use in Europe as a whole.
In Australia, 2.5 per cent of the population aged 14 and older were estimated to have used cocaine in the previous year. The highest estimated prevalence of cocaine was among young adults aged 20-29 also.
Cocaine use was not popular in both Africa in Asia. For Africa, the use of cocaine was estimated to be between 0.02 per cent and 0.40 per cent of the population, while in Asia the cocaine use was estimated to be between 0.04 and 0.07 per cent.
Methamphetamine
The information available globally on methamphetamine, although limited, indicates that there has been a market expansion. The data available shows that this market has been expanding and that the two largest ‘demand regions’ are South-East Asia and North America.
In terms of methamphetamine that has been seized, North American and South-East Asia, respectively account for 49 per cent and 42 per cent of global quantities seized. Despite the overall expansion of methamphetamine markets worldwide, most of the trafficking continues to be intraregional, for example, trafficking within North America or within South-East Asia.
Our testing solution
Randox Toxicology are first to market when it comes to testing for the latest drugs of abuse and new psychoactive substances in the market. Our revolutionary Biochip Array Technology provides state-of-the-art drug detection, utilizing simultaneous drug detection from a single sample across multiple matrices.
Our ELISA kits provide a comprehensive test menu, covering a broad range of drugs of abuse, stimulants, analgesics and sedatives. Randox Toxicology develop the highest quality 96-well microtitre plates available to the market, with results providing excellent correlation with confirmatory methods.
To find out more email us at: info@randoxtoxicology.com or visit our website: www.randoxtoxicology.com
Randox Toxicology Products and Services
BIOCHIP
EVIDENCE
ELISA
MATRICES
Want to know more about Randox?
Contact us or visit our homepage to view more.
Take control of your liver health with a Randox Health Check
09 January 2020
Understanding your liver health
Take control of your liver health with a Randox Health Check
Are you taking part in Dry January? Giving up alcohol can do your insides a lot of good, and it’s great news for your liver in particular. It may be that after the festive period our liver needs a little bit of rest!
Did you know that alcohol consumption across the UK increases by a staggering 41 percent more than the annual monthly average in December? That’s more than anywhere else in the world.
The effects of alcohol on your health really depend on how much you drink and how often, but as the statistics show, more of us increase our uptake of alcohol over the festive period.
So how does this impact our body and our liver?
The results of over indulging vary from a hangover, a poor night’s sleep, to causing an irregular heartbeat, and in some cases, excessive alcohol intake can lead to liver damage. This can be a very serious condition, given the liver’s vital role in the body.
The liver plays a central role in all metabolic processes. In fat metabolism, it breaks down fats and produces energy. When we intake alcohol or drugs, it metabolizes the drug and detoxifies chemicals. And it also makes proteins important for blood clotting and other functions.
Following these processes, the liver also secretes bile that ends up back in the intestines and helps the digestion of fats and oils, otherwise known as lipids.
The liver can develop new cells, but abuse over a prolonged period reduces its ability to regenerate, causing serious damage.
It is not just heavy drinking over years that can cause liver disease – binge drinking is also a culprit and can lead to a build up of fat and subsequent inflammation. The best advice is to drink in moderation. Simple tips like taking a glass of water in-between alcoholic drinks are key to staying hydrated.
Know your units;
- According to drinkaware.co.uk, unit guidelines are now the same for men and women.
- Both are advised not to regularly drink more than 14 units a week
- This equates to 6 pints of 4% beer / 6 glasses of 13% wine / 14 glasses (25ml) of 40% spirits
- But don’t save up your 14 units, it’s best to spread evenly across the week.
- If you want to cut down the amount you’re drinking, a good way is to have several drink-free days each week.
- If you’ve had a heavy drinking session, avoid alcohol for 48 hours.
What does one unit of alcohol look like?
One unit of alcohol is the amount of alcohol an average adult can process within one hour so that so that there’s no alcohol left in their bloodstream.
One unit of alcohol equates to:
- 218ml of standard 4.5% cider
- 76ml of standard 13% wine
- 25ml of standard 40% whiskey
- 250ml of standard 4% beer
- 250ml of a standard 4% alcopop
How many units are in my drink?
- Small glass white / rosé / red wine (125ml 12%) = 1.5 units
- Standard glass white / rosé / red wine (175 ml 12%) = 2.1 units
- Large glass white / red / rosé wine (250ml 12%) = 3 units
- Pint of lager / beer / cider (5.2%) = 3 units
- Bottle of lager / beer / cider (330ml 5%) = 1.7 units
- Single small shot of spirits (25ml 40%) = 1 unit*
*taken from NHS Live Well Guidelines
Having your liver health checked after Christmas is a great way of tracking any changes that you may need to make to your lifestyle, for better or for worse – essential for helping you prevent disease and allowing you to take early action if it is diagnosed.
At Randox we offer a comprehensive menu of liver function tests to determine its health. Provided by Randox to a wealth of hospitals, laboratories and research facilities across the globe, these tests are also directly available to you, the consumer, via our Randox Health clinics.
They include:
- Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT) – an enzyme mainly found in the liver. Liver injury or disease will release ALT into the bloodstream, thus elevating serum ALT levels. Moderately high or mildly elevated ALT levels can be associated with chronic diseases, such as cirrhosis, which is scarring of the liver.
- Aspartate Aminotransferase (AST) – an enzyme found predominantly in the heart, liver and skeletal muscles. Cell injury or disease will release AST into the bloodstream, thus elevating blood AST levels. Increased AST levels may be associated with hepatitis (inflammation of the liver), cirrhosis, or drug-induced liver injury.
- Gamma-Glutamyltransferase (GGT) – an enzyme found mainly in the liver. Increased levels of GGT in the blood may indicate bile duct injury, hepatitis, cirrhosis, liver necrosis (death of tissue), tumours or the use of drugs that are toxic to the liver. A high GGT level is frequently associated with increased alcohol consumption, as this enzyme is involved in the breakdown and removal of alcohol from the body.
- Glutamate Dehydrogenase (GLDH) – an enzyme located within the mitochondria (energy-producing machinery) of cells, particularly within liver tissue. Significant liver cell damage may cause release of GLDH into the bloodstream. Toxic liver damage, liver cell necrosis or hypoxic liver disease (where liver cells are deprived of oxygen) may cause an increase in GLDH. Measurement of GLDH in combination with other liver markers may help distinguish between different causes of liver dysfunction.
- Bilirubin – a yellowish-brown pigment found in bile. Increased levels may be associated with liver or bile duct blockage (eg due to gallstones), hepatitis, cirrhosis, trauma to the liver, a drug reaction, long-term alcohol abuse or rare inherited disorders (eg Dubin-Johnson syndrome which is characterised by mild jaundice).
- Albumin – produced by the liver, albumin is the most abundant protein in the blood. Albumin plays in important role in maintaining blood pressure and transporting a wide variety of small molecules, such as hormones, vitamins and drugs, throughout the body. Various conditions are associated with decreased albumin levels, including kidney and liver diseases.
- Copper – an essential mineral that plays a part in many enzyme systems within the body. Excess or deficiency of copper is very rare, however raised copper levels may be caused by chronic liver disease or acute hepatitis.
And when used in conjunction with the wide variety of other tests available within the world’s most comprehensive and personalised health testing menu, you can obtain an understanding of your full body health like never before.
That’s why we don’t test in isolation, which can give a patchy representation of your health and can fail to pick up on related symptoms elsewhere in the body. We test up to 350 tests across 25 areas of your health – giving you the power to take your health into your own hands.
Contact the Randox Health team today to determine the health of your liver, and of your body.
Call 0800 2545 130 or click here.
To find out more and purchase the most thoughtful of Christmas presents – a gift card for the ‘gift of health’ – click here.
Want to know more?
Contact us or visit our Randox Health page to view more.
Our Randox Health programmes
Everyman
Everywoman
Signature
Specialised testing
The Drug Epidemic in The Seychelles Islands
24 December 2019
The Drug Epidemic in The Seychelles Islands
The Seychelles is suffering from a drug epidemic. Nearly 10% of its 94000 population are addicted to heroin, according to the Agency for the Prevention of Drug Abuse and Rehabilitation (APDAR) in the Seychelles.
Per capita, the Seychelles suffers from the highest rate of heroin abuse in the world. Heroin makes the long journey from Central Asia, especially Afghanistan, before being smuggled to the islands via East Africa. Made up of 115 islands, the Seychelles has many porous borders, which makes them hard to monitor and easy for the drugs to come into the country. Rather than attempting a “war on drugs”, which would criminalise the large proportion of heroin users in the Seychelles, the head of the anti-drug agency has introduced a Portuguese-style drug policy – considering drug addiction as a chronic diseased to be treated.
Heroin users in the Seychelles have two options:
- Join a high threshold Methadone Maintenance Programme (MMP), which includes a period of in-patient treatment where they must commit to detoxification
- Or the low threshold programme, which focuses on harm reduction
Individuals have access to medical and psychosocial support under both programmes.
Patrick Herminie, who had previously attended one of the programmes, has stated “currently, we have over 2000 people registered in one of our programmes and 68% of those are now gainfully employed”. Each morning he visits one of the country’s mobile methadone clinics, white vans that are manned by drug counsellors and qualified nurses to give the correct dose of methadone to recovering addicts. People line up outside the open windows of the van, ready to show their ID. Their name, the date and time are logged into a spreadsheet on receipt of the information and the correct dose of methadone is distributed to them.
Utilising our patented Biochip Array Technology, our DoA ULTRA panel, available for the Evidence Investigator, offers the most comprehensive drugs of abuse screen across multiple forensic matrices. Detecting up to 20 targets drugs including heroin and other opioids, it has the largest cross-reactivity profile of over 240 analytes. Our excellent assay precision and performance eliminates false reporting, offering CVs of typically <10%. Randox Toxicology produce an accurate drug profile to ensure confidence in results.
To find out more about our Biochip Array Technology and our Evidence Series range of analysers, visit www.randoxtoxicology.com or email info@randoxtoxicology.com
Randox Toxicology Products and Services
BIOCHIP
EVIDENCE
ELISA
MATRICES
Want to know more about Randox?
Contact us or visit our homepage to view more.
New report highlights scale and causes of prescription drug dependence in UK
10 December 2019
New report highlights scale and causes of prescription drug dependence in UK
A new report has highlighted the scale and causes of prescription drug dependence in the UK. In 2017, the minister for public health and primary care commissioned Public Health England (PHE) to identify the scale, distribution and causes of prescription drug dependence, and what might be done to address it.
The review covered adults (aged 18 and over) and 5 classes of medicines:
- benzodiazepines (mostly prescribed for anxiety)
- z-drugs (sleeping tablets with effects similar to benzodiazepines)
- gabapentin and pregabalin (together called gabapentinoids and used to treat epilepsy, neuropathic pain and, in the case of pregabalin, anxiety)
- opioids for chronic non-cancer pain
- antidepressants
PHE’s analysis shows that, in 2017 to 2018, 11.5 million adults in England (26% of the adult population) received, and had dispensed, one or more prescriptions for any of the medicines within the scope of the review. The totals for each medicine were:
- z-drugs – 1.0 million (2%)
- benzodiazepines – 4 million (3%)
- gabapentinoids – 5 million (3%)
- antidepressants – 3 million people (17% of the adult population)
- opioid pain medicines – 6 million (13%)
Trends
Between 2015 to 2016 and 2017 to 2018 the rate of prescribing for antidepressants increased from 15.8% of the adult population to 16.6% and for gabapentinoids from 2.9% to 3.3%. There was a small decrease in prescribing rates for the other 3 medicine classes. Rates of prescribing were higher for women (1.5 times those of men), and the rates generally increased with age. After a long increasing trend, the annual number of prescriptions for opioid pain medicines has slightly decreased since 2016. There is a continuing longer-term fall in prescription numbers for benzodiazepines. A longer-term increase in annual prescription numbers for z-drugs started to reverse in 2014.
Officials said long-term use on such a scale could not be justified and was a sign of patients dependence.
PHE medical director Prof Paul Cosford said he was worried.
“These medicines have many vital clinical uses and can make a big difference to people’s quality of life.”
But he added there were too many cases where patients were using them for longer than “clinically” appropriate – where the drugs would have simply stopped working effectively or where the risks could outweigh the benefits.
Conclusions
One in 4 adults in England were prescribed benzodiazepines, z-drugs, gabapentinoids, opioids for chronic non-cancer pain, or antidepressants. Prescriptions for antidepressants and gabapentinoids are increasing, but prescriptions for opioid pain medicines are decreasing. Prescriptions for benzodiazepines continue to fall, and those for z-drugs have more recently started to fall.
Peter Burkinshaw at PHE, one of the authors said: “The long-term prescribing of opioid pain medicines and benzodiazepines is not supported by guidelines and is not effective.”
Fellow author Rosanna O’Connor, said: “We know that GPs in some of the more deprived areas are under great pressure but, as this review highlights, more needs to be done to educate and support patients, as well as looking closely at prescribing practice and what alternative treatments are available locally.
References
Dependence and withdrawal associated with some prescribed medicines (PHE)
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/sep/10/addictive-medication-nhs-opioid-crisis-government-study-england
Randox Testing Services
At Randox Testing Services we are at the forefront of alcohol and drug testing. We aim to spread the message of alcohol and drug misuse and the effects substance abuse can have on individuals and businesses. Prescription & OTC medication if taken incorrectly can have a devastating impact. It’s important to communicate with employers if you are taking prescription medication for any reason. If your organisation undertakes workplace testing, our chain of custody process provides clarity on the steps needed to ensure confidentiality is maintained.
For more information on drug & alcohol testing, including the wide range of substances we can test for, please visit www.randoxtestingservices.com or email testingservices@randox.com
Want to know more?
Contact us or visit our website to read more.
California announces ban of Chlorpyrifos Pesticide from February 2020
26 November 2019
Chlorpyrifos Pesticide ban in California
California announces ban of Chlorpyrifos Pesticide from February 2020
A recent Forbes article has stated that; “California plans to ban all sales of chlorpyrifos after Feb. 6, 2020, according to an agreement between the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) and manufacturers. Growers must use their chlorpyrifos supplies by the end of Dec. 31, 2020, and will not be allowed to own the pesticide after this date.
The DPR cited concerns about chlorpyrifos affecting the health of children, such as causing “impaired brain and neurological development.”
Chlorpyrifos is an agricultural pesticide with a variety of uses, including the ability to kill insects that harm crops. Introduced by the Dow Chemical Company in 1965, chlorpyrifos can eliminate insects by interfering with an enzyme called acetylcholinesterase in their bodies, which breaks up the neurotransmitter acetylcholine.
When an insect’s body cannot produce the enzyme, the levels of acetylcholine build up and overstimulate the nervous system until the insect dies. People also have acetylcholinesterase and acetylcholine in their bodies, so there have been ongoing concerns about the pesticide’s impact on human health.
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) explained, “In people, short-term oral exposure (one day) to low (milligrams) levels of chlorpyrifos can cause dizziness, fatigue, runny nose or eyes, salivation, nausea, intestinal discomfort, sweating and changes in heart rate. Short-term oral exposure to much higher (grams) levels of chlorpyrifos may cause paralysis, seizures, loss of consciousness and death.”
In order to help the industry Randox Food Diagnostics have developed Biochip Array Technology. Biochip allows for the detection of multiple pesticides including Chlorpyrifos, from a single honey or milk sample. The platform enables the user to run up to 54 samples on the Evidence Investigator analyser with a short sample preparation, allowing the user to consolidate costs and time.
For further information please contact the Randox Food Diagnostics team by emailing info@randoxfooddiagnostics.com.
Want to know more?
Contact us or visit our Randox Food Diagnostics website.
Related Products
Meat & Seafood
Milk
Honey
Wine
Practical steps for dealing with substance misuse in the workplace
11 November 2019
Practical steps for dealing with substance misuse in the workplace
What is substance misuse?
Substance misuse (or abuse) is defined as the sustained use of any mind-altering substance. This includes legal substances like solvents and alcohol as well as illegal drugs. Through this continued use the user’s physical and mental health are severely affected. The misuse of substances in the workplace can cause issues such as increased absenteeism, low productivity and create an unsafe working environment.
It is estimated that between 3% and 5% of all work absences are due to alcohol abuse and that 1 in 30 employees has had drugs in their system at one time in the workplace. All employers have a legal responsibility to ensure the health, safety and welfare of their employees and so statistics like this cannot be ignored.
What can employers do?
As an employer, it is important that measures are taken to protect all employees and the company from potential dangers. To do this, employers should:
Introduce a comprehensive drug and alcohol policy. This lets all stakeholders know exactly where the company stands on substance misuse and shows that you are being proactive in your approach.
Conduct drug and alcohol testing. Utilising random and/or with cause testing can help quickly identify any substance misuse issues. Consider including a contractual obligation for employees to co-operate with this.
Train staff to identify the signs of substance misuse. Make everyone aware of the issue and give them the ability to look for the key signs. This can only help increase safety.
Keep up-to-date with the latest legislation. The laws on substance misuse can change quite quickly, especially as new substances like legal highs are identified and re-classified. Ensure you are aware of the latest changes.
Support employees. Addiction or frequent misuse of substances should be treated the same way as other health issues. Offer support to your employees and help them make a quick return to work.
The above steps can help better manage the issue of substance misuse in the workplace. Effectively communicating the company’s stance on this issue to employees brings clarity and lets everyone know where they stand.
Randox Testing Services
At Randox Testing Services we offer comprehensive drug and alcohol testing solutions for workplaces. We incorporate cutting-edge screening methods to provide an outstanding testing service and are well-positioned to provide consultancy and support to help you put an effective workplace drug and alcohol testing policy in place.
For more information contact us at testingservices@randox.com.
Want to know more?
Contact us or visit our website to read more.
Drug Abuse Screening in the Emergency Department
21 October 2019
Drug Abuse Screening in the Emergency Department
On a global scale, emergency departments have been providing critical access to the health care system for many years, however, more recently visits to the emergency department has been an opportunity to identify patients with substance use disorders. Screening patients for illicit drugs and drug abuse has become increasingly more regular when a patient is admitted to the emergency department. Screening is vital to treat a patient with effective treatment. Nearly half of all emergency department visits in the US are categorized as relating to substance use disorders.
In a study completed at Ghent University Hospital in 2017 it was found that the most frequently reported drugs abused by emergency department patients are cannabis, cocaine, amphetamines, and opiates. It is important to screen patients in the emergency department if the patient is showing signs of confusion, deliriousness, unconsciousness, panic attacks, chest pain, difficulty breathing, vomiting, or seizures as these symptoms usually indicate drug intoxication or overdose.
Randox Toxicology’s Evidence MultiSTAT is a fully automated immunoanalyser that enables on-site simultaneous detection of up to 21 analytes from a single sample, making it ideal for an emergency department. It requires a small sample volume and generates results in 20 minutes. The process from sample entry to results can be completed in 3 simple steps, with minimum room for human error. The MultiSTAT is designed to analyse as quick, simple and reliable as possible.
| Available Tests | ||
| AB-CHMINACA | AB-PINACA | Amphetamine |
| Barbiturates | Benzodiazepines I (Oxazepam) | Benzodiazepines II (Lorazepam) |
| Benzoylecgonine (Cocaine Metabolite) | Buprenorphine | Cannabinoids (THC) |
| Creatinine | Ethyl Glucuronide (EtG) | Fentanyl |
| LSD | Methadone | Methamphetamine |
| Opiate | Oxycodone | Phencyclidine (PCP) |
| Pregabalin | Propoxyphene | Tramadol |
| Tricyclic Antidepressants (TCA) | UR-144/XLR-11 | α-PVP (Flakka) |
If you would like to find out more about the Evidence MultiSTAT, Biochip Array Technology, or our Evidence range of analysers, contact info@randoxtoxicology.com or visit www.randoxtoxicology.com
Randox Toxicology Products and Services
BIOCHIP
EVIDENCE
ELISA
MATRICES
Want to know more about Randox?
Contact us or visit our homepage to view more.
World Heart Day from Randox Biosciences
29 September 2019
World Heart Day 2019
The World Heart Federation (WHF) is the acting global voice in leading the universal fight against cardiovascular disease (CVD). Part of the WHF mission is to ensure heart health equity for everyone. They believe everybody is entitled to cardiovascular health and well-being through health promotion, access to prevention, control and management of CVD 1.
World Heart Day falls on the 29th September where people make a promise to promote and implement healthier lifestyles to maintain a happy and healthy heart, reducing the potential risks of heart disease and stroke. CVD takes the lead being the number one cause of death world-wide 2 relating to all heart and circulatory diseases consisting of coronary heart disease, angina, heart attack, congenital heart disease, hypertension, stroke and vascular dementia 3.
According to the World Health Organisation2:
- An estimated 17.9 million people died from CVD in 2016, representing 31% of all global deaths. Of these deaths, 85% were due to heart attack and stroke.
- Out of the 17 million premature deaths (under the age of 70) due to noncommunicable diseases in 2015, 82% were in low- and middle-income countries, and 37% were caused by CVD.
- Most cardiovascular diseases can be prevented by addressing behavioural risk factors such as tobacco use, unhealthy diet and alcohol abuse.
Cytokines have a central role within the immune system; they are a category of signalling molecules that mediate and regulate immunity, inflammation and hematopoiesis 4. Cytokine and inflammatory mechanisms have major implications for the vascular system and can lead to CVD.
Cytokines exist in broad families that are structurally related but exhibit diverse function. The major classes of cytokines include: pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines, cytokines of neutrophil and eosinophil recruitment and activation, cytokines derived from T-helper (Th) and T-regulatory (Tregs) cells, and cytokines of T-cell recruitment and growth factors. 5
Randox offers a comprehensive menu of 26 cytokine, cytokine receptors and growth factors over four multi-analyte arrays. Each cytokine assay is performed on biochip array technology with spatially discrete test regions containing antibodies specific to each of the analytes. The combination of highly specific antibodies and advanced chemistries enables up to 12 cytokines and growth factors to be detected simultaneously in a single sample.
Cytokine Array I Cytokine Array III
- Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF) – Granulocyte Macrophage Colony Stimulating
- Interferon-y – Interleukin-5
- Interleukin-1a – Interleukin-15
- Interleukin-1b – Macrophage Inflammatory Protein-1a
- Interleukin-2
- Interleukin-4
- Interleukin-6
- Interleukin-8
- Interleukin-10
- Monocyte Chemotactic Protein-1
- Tumour Necrosis Factor-a
- Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor
Cytokine Array IV Cytokine Array V
- Matrix Metalloproteinase-9 – Interleukin-3
- Soluble IL-2 Receptor a – Interleukin-7
- Soluble IL-6 Receptor – Interleukin-13
- Soluble Tumour Necrosis Factor Receptor I – Interleukin-12 p70
- Soluble Tumour Necrosis Factor Receptor II – Interleukin-23
Key Benefits of Randox Cytokine Arrays:
- Multiplex testing from a single sample.
- Suitable for human serum and plasma samples.
- Small sample volume required.
- Excellent analytical performance.
- Fast throughput.
- Applicable to fully automated and semi-automated Evidence analysers.
Randox manufacture the majority of assay raw materials in-house and can therefore take a more tailored approach, by adapting assays to the needs of your research project to best fit your individual requirements.
- https://www.world-heart-federation.org/
- https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/cardiovascular-diseases-(cvds)
- https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/conditions/cardiovascular-disease
- https://www.sinobiological.com/cytokine-rerview-receptor-source-targets-main-function-disease-association-a-1310.html
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/cytokines
Randox Biosciences Products and Services
RESEARCH
BIOPHARMA
CLINICAL LAB
BIOREAGENTS
Want to know more about Randox?
Contact us or visit our homepage to view more.
Drug related deaths increase dramatically in Scotland
20 September 2019
Drug related deaths increase dramatically in Scotland
In the past year, Scotland’s drug related deaths have increased dramatically by 27%.
This almost levels the fatality rate per capita with the US. The latest figures showed the majority of fatalities was from the over 35 age group, known as the “Trainspotting generation.”
Westminster currently hold the power on the Misuse of Drugs Act, which Scotland believes should be relaxed as a method of controlling the issue in the country. One of Scotland’s most senior police officers has described the Misuse of Drugs Act as a relic that was “ripe for reform.”
The chair of the Scottish government’s task force on drug deaths, Catriona Matheson believes that treatment challenges should be investigated alongside decriminalisation;
“I understand why decriminalisation grabs most attention, but legislation, criminal justice, healthcare and public attitudes are intertwined”.
There is also a significant increase in the number of fatalities amongst the under 35 age group. These deaths are heavily linked to poly-drug use, including the relatively newly available drug named “street benzodiazepines.”
The lead pharmacist for addiction services at the city’s health and social care partnership, Dr Carole Hunter, said;
“The major problem for Glasgow is heroin and illicit benzos like etizolam or street Valium, which have never been cheaper or more available.”
International trials have shown that medicinal heroin can be an effective treatment for a number of opioid users who do not respond to regular methods of treatment. Hunter proposes opening an enhanced drug treatment centre in Glasgow for this medicinal heroin to be administered under supervision.
Dave Liddell, chief executive of Scottish Drugs Forum stated;
“Neither decriminalisation nor one drug consumption room in Glasgow is going to impact substantially on the death rate. The key focus needs to be on improving our drug treatment and care services. We need to look at access to opioid replacement therapy. Only 40% of people with a drug problem in Scotland are currently in treatment, compared with far higher numbers in England and many countries in England.”
For further information please email info@randoxtoxicology.com or visit www.randoxtoxicology.com
Randox Toxicology Products and Services
BIOCHIP
EVIDENCE
ELISA
MATRICES
Want to know more about Randox?
Contact us or visit our homepage to view more.