For quantitative determination of the apoptosis target caspase-3 activity and HTS screen for apoptosis inducers and inhibitors.

• Safe
• Non-radioactive assay
• This homogeneous "mix-incubate-measure" type assay can be readily automated for processing thousands of samples per day

Caspases are members of the aspartate-specific cysteinyl protease family that play a central role in apoptosis

BioAssay Systems’ Caspase-3 Assay Kit provides a convenient means to measure caspase-3 activity in biological samples. In the assay, a specific substrate (N-Ac-DEVD-AFC) is cleaved by active caspase-3, forming a highly fluorescent product. The fluorescence intensity (λex/em = 400/490nm) is proportional to the caspase-3 activity.

Apoptosis is involved in a variety of physiological and pathological events, ranging from normal fetal development to diseases such as cancer, organ failure, and neurodegenerative diseases. Caspase-3 is key biomarker in the assessment of apoptosis and in understanding mechanism of apoptosis induction.