NA-Fluor™ Influenza Neuraminidase Assay Kit

The NA-Fluor™ Influenza Neuraminidase Assay Kit provides validated reagents and a standardized protocol for conducting neuraminidase enzyme assays, including neuraminidase inhibitor (NI) susceptibility screening using a fluorescent MUNANA substrate.

Key product features:
• Efficient design—neuraminidase assay in one complete kit
• Optimized formulations—assay reagents have been optimized for maximum performance based on NISN protocols
• Robust application—functional detection of NI-resistant virus in mixed viral populations
• Easy of use & flexible screening—stable fluorescent signal enables batch-mode or high throughput processing

Neuraminidase Assasy in One Complete Kit
The NA-Fluor™ Influenza Neuraminidase Assay Kit includes comprehensive protocols for titering viral isolates based upon neuraminidase activity and conducting neuraminidase enzyme inhibition assays. The assay can also be used for monitoring neuraminidase enzyme activity from non-viral or bacterial sources. The NA-Fluor™ Kit contains reagents for 10 96-well microplates sufficient for a total of 960 assay wells and includes the following components: fluorescent MUNANA neuraminidase substrate, assay buffer, and stop solution to enhance and stabilize signal. The assay is performed in standard black microplates (microplates not provided in kit) and is read on standard fluorometers.

Neuraminidase Assay Compares to NISN Protocols
The NA-Fluor™ assay reagent formulations are optimized to be comparable to several well-established MUNANA-based assay protocols, such as:
• The MUNANA substrate concentration, assay buffer formulation and assay conditions are consistent with NISN IC-50 determination protocols
• Data generated using the NA-Fluor™ assay corresponds to data generated with established MUNANA based protocols
These key parameters enable investigators to compare data acquired during current NI resistance surveillance screens using the NA-Fluor™ assay to data acquired using their previous MUNANA assay protocols (Figure 1).

Detection of NI-Resistant Virus in Mixed Viral Populations
The large shift in IC-50 values between sensitive and oseltamivir-resistant virus using the NA-Fluor™ assay enables detection of mutant virus in mixed viral samples (Figure 2). This capability is critical for identifying resistant virus in clinical isolates presenting mixed populations of resistant and sensitive virus during NI susceptibility surveillance.

Flexibility for Screening Neuraminidase Activity
The NA-Fluor™ assay provides an easy, flexible format for the screening of several to several hundred viral isolates, or the screening of thousands of compounds during high-throughput lead discovery with quality data at high confidence levels. With superior performance, the assay has demonstrated a Z´ of 0.78-0.8, making it strongly capable for use in high-throughput screening. The fluorescent reaction product remains stable for hours at room temperature after the assay is complete, enabling read-time flexibility and comparable data from first plate to last. The assay signal remains nearly constant and IC-50 values (data not shown) are identical from data collected up to 4 hours at room temperature and up to 4 days at 4 °C after assay termination (Figure 3). The NA-Fluor™ assay has been optimized as an end-point assay run at 37 °C for one hour following NI pre-incubation. However, the rate of MUNANA substrate turnover remains linear for more than 2 hours with viral neuraminidase, allowing the assay to be performed for as little as 20 minutes to save time or for as long as 2 hours to increase signal output. The assay can also be conducted in real-time without the addition of stop solution for those investigators who want to perform their own assay development or monitor rates of substrate turnover in the presence of inhibitor (Figure 4).

For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostics procedures.