United States Patent ( 10 ) Patent No . : US 7479 , 375 B 2
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A new kinetic single-stage Limulus amoebocyte lysate method for the detection of endotoxin in water and plasma.
A convenient kinetic chromogenic Limulus amoebocyte lysate (LAL) method, based on components originally intended for a two-stage end-point method, has been developed. The components (LAL and chromogenic substrate) can be pooled and subsequently used in a single-stage kinetic procedure adapted to microplates. With the help of a kinetic software, it is possible to measure over the three log range 0.005-12 EU/ml in one test run--a range considerably wider than the range of the end-point procedure. A good linearity of the log-log standard curve, reflected by coefficients of regression between 0.997 and 1.0, is shown as well as a high-resolution (> 700 s) between the negative control and the lowest standard point. Moreover a good precision (C.V. < 10%) is obtained in both water and plasma, showing the usefulness of the method in different applications. Finally, a strong correlation (r = 0.95-0.99) to other LAL methods is demonstrated.
Assessment of some agro-technological parameters of cactus pear fruit ( Opuntia ficus-indica Mill . ) in Morocco cultivars
Cactaceae had always attracted attention by their strange shapes and important adaptability supporting extreme conditions. For this reasons, Fruit traits were measured on 13 cultivars growing in different locations in Morocco. Results show significant differences between the cultivars. The source of this variation was probably genetic without excluding the geographic effects. The Tamri, Berkan, Ait Baha cultivars showed small fruit dimensions and weight. In contrast, Sidi-Ifni M, Nador, Mohammedia and Ben Guerir were greater than 100 g by fruit. Sidi-Ifni M, Hoceima, Mohammedia and Nador, although larger, contained few seeds, about 200 seeds per fruit; while Tamri, Ait Baha, Safi, Meknes and Tafraout contained over than 230 seeds per fruit. High levels of juice about 62 ml/100 g pulp were obtained with Sidi-Ifni M, Nador, Mohammedia and Ben Guerir cultivars. Total sugars of the 13 cultivars were quite similar and pH was low in Tamri and close to neutrality in the rest of cultivars. Therefore, oil extracted from Opuntia ficus-indica seeds constituted 13.6% of the whole seed. Thin-layer chromatography in conjunction with gas-liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry revealed a relatively high degree of unsaturation, 83.32% and 16% for saturated fatty acid, with a linoleic acid content of 63.66% followed by oleic 18.34%, palmitic 12.84% and stearic acid 2.81%. Based on these results, O. ficus-indica seed oil appears to be a good potential source of edible oil for human and (or) animal consumption. Our investigation describes that Tamri and Tafraout cultivars are not really a commercial viable fruit due to low total soluble solids value and highest seeds number per fruit. Against Mohammedia, Sidi Ifni M and Nador cultivars proved to have the highest fruit weight, very good total soluble solids value and low number of seeds, these cultivars can therefore be planted for both fruit production and for harvesting of cladodes for animal feed.