Faecal calprotectin (fCAL) has become an increasingly important biomarker for in vitro diagnostic detection of gut inflammation. It enables clinicians to make initial diagnostic predictions without the need for invasive and costly endoscopies. With the advent of NICE diagnostics guidance [DG11], the demand for faecal calprotectin testing has risen significantly.
Now, the new BÜHLMANN fCAL turbo calprotectin assay, available exclusively in the UK from ALPHA LABORATORIES, provides flexible, random access application on major clinical chemistry platforms. It offers a rapid, high-throughput, automated solution that can be routinely integrated into the existing laboratory infrastructure. With a short turnaround time from stool sample to reportable result it can improve efficiency to accommodate the growing number of requests for calprotectin testing.
BÜHLMANN fCAL turbo provides a result within 10 minutes and is claimed by the company to be the fastest calprotectin test in the market. With its broad, direct measurable range (20 to 2000 µg/g), it reduces the amount of retesting below 5%. The effective measurable range is up to 8000 µg/g. As the assay is standardised against the BÜHLMANN fCAL ELISA, the same cut-off values can be applied. Particle-enhanced turbidimetric immunoassay (PETIA) further increases the precision and reproducibility of calprotectin quantification.
In combination with the BÜHLMANN CALEX Cap extraction device fCAL turbo greatly simplifies the cumbersome procedure for stool pre-analytics. No additional pipetting and manual dilution steps are required, making fCAL turbo fully adapted for use on major clinical chemistry analysers. Visit: www.alphalabs.co.uk/fcalturbo
