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Dried Blood Spot Collection Handbook
About Salimetrics Often considered a scientific collaborator, Salimetrics stands by investigators in support of their specific aims. From academic researchers, industry leading pharmaceuticals, contract research organizations and key opinion leaders, to students and beginning researchers, Salimetrics collaborates with investigators in both the academic and diagnostic fields across many scientific disciplines. We help researchers be successful. [...]
Young Children From Low-income Non-urban Families May Have an Increased Exposure to Secondhand Smoke
Magnitude and Chronicity of Environmental Smoke Exposure Across Infancy and Early Childhood in a Sample of Low-Income Children Author: Gatzke-Kopp, et al. (2019), Nicotine & Tobacco Research. ABSTRACT:Introduction: Infants and young children may be at an increased risk for second- and thirdhand exposure to tobacco smoke because of increased respiration rate and exposure to surface […]
Rigor and Reproducibility: A Breakthrough for Salivary Oxytocin Testing
With the increased interest and important role of Oxytocin (OT) in mammalian behavior, physiology and disease, and the difficulty in acquiring cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), there is a critical need to establish valid and reliable methods to measure oxytocin in peripheral fluids. Oxytocin levels have been measured in blood, breast milk, urine, and CSF, but each [...]
Technical Bulletin – Running Multiple Alpha-Amylase Strips
The Salimetrics Alpha-Amylase Kinetic Reaction Assay Kit (Item #1-1902) may take some practice to get comfortable with the timing of the assay. Salimetrics’ advice is to start slow – one strip at a time with controls – then work up to more strips as you get more comfortable and confident with the assay. There are [...]
Saliva Collection and Handling Recommendations
About Salimetrics Salimetrics is the trusted leader in salivary bioscience, with decades of expertise in supporting researchers worldwide. Our unmatched precision, high-quality salivary assays, collection devices, and testing services make us the clear choice for any saliva-related study. With more published papers using Salimetrics assays than any other brand, our solutions are the gold standard [...]
Measuring SIgA in Saliva
SIgA Levels in Saliva are Affected by Its Mechanism of Entry Unlike the various other salivary anti-microbial proteins that are synthesized directly in the saliva glands, or serum-derived analytes such as the steroid hormones that enter saliva by passive diffusion, Secretory IgA (SIgA) is a product of the adaptive immune system. Plasma B cells formed [...]
The Entry of Substances into Saliva and the Effect of Flow Rate on Their Concentrations
The major pathway into saliva for most steroid hormones and other small, neutral molecules is by passive diffusion. The salivary glands are surrounded by dense beds of capillaries, and many blood components pass easily through the capillary walls, bathing the saliva glands. The neutral steroids diffuse readily through the lipo-protein membranes of the secretory cells [...]
Collecting and Handling Saliva for DNA Analysis
DNA in Saliva The DNA in saliva originates from cells that are shed from the inner linings of the mouth and from white blood cells. These DNA-containing cells are collected, and the DNA is then extracted by various methods. SNP Genotyping From Saliva Samples Easy and accurate salivary DNA analysis enables the genotyping of well-characterized [...]
Saliva Collection from Infants and Small Children for Research Studies
Studies have reported that some older preschoolers are able to donate saliva samples by spitting or drooling (1,2), but researchers have generally found that using some sort of absorbent device is the best way to collect saliva from young children. Parents often have a better chance of getting the child to accept the device into [...]
Calculating Inter- and Intra-Assay Coefficients of Variability
In order to express the precision, or repeatability, of immunoassay test results, researchers in the social and behavioral sciences typically report two measures of the Coefficient of Variability (CV) in their publications: the Inter-Assay CV and the Intra-Assay CV. The CV is a dimensionless number defined as the standard deviation of a set of measurements [...]
Using Salivary Cotinine Assay to Determine Smoking Status
One of the difficulties encountered in identifying smokers by self report is that there are many different ideas of what constitutes smoking behavior. For example, when asked about their smoking status, light or intermittent smokers will often classify themselves as nonsmokers. In order to maintain consistency in the use of various terms while gathering data [...]
Collecting and Handling Saliva Samples for Cytokine Analysis
As was noted in the Spit Tip from our Bulletin devoted to salivary CRP (April 2011), limited information may exist on the best ways to collect and handle saliva for the analysis of many novel biomarkers. In the case of salivary cytokines such as IL-1ß, IL-6, and TNF-a, however, the modest amount of work that [...]
Tips for Running Salimetrics Assays
To obtain consistent results, it is important to always use the same methods, equipment, timing, etc., when testing saliva samples. Salimetrics recommends that all saliva samples be frozen, thawed and centrifuged before use in our assays. (Freezing precipitates particulate matter and mucins.) Note: This process must be repeated every time a sample is refrozen, as [...]
Guidelines for Interpreting Cotinine Levels: United States
The following guidelines are based largely on the work of Neal Benowitz, et.al. These numbers were derived from serum cotinine values as measured by HPLC/MS. Note that optimal cut‐points differ by race/ethnicity and sex. We encourage you to read the entire text of the 2009 article. (1) Race/Ethnicity Adult Cutoff Adolescent Cutoff Non‐Hispanic whites 5 [...]