Do I need to wear gloves and protective equipment when performing and ATP test and handling reagents?
Refer to the SDS sheets or all safety guidelines relating to our reagents and be sure to follow all safety protocols in place at your testing location.
You should use gloves when handling wastewater and chemical product samples. Gloves can also be used while performing the ATP test but caution should be taken when performing the ATP assay (the final step) with gloves on, because static buildup and discharge between the gloves and tubes can interfere with the assay and cause high backgrounds. This can be avoided by inserting the assay tube into the luminometer with an ungloved hand.
Only LuminUltra's enzymes require special handling and storage conditions to maintain optimal activity. All other reagents may be stored at room temperature for 2 years. All other reagents are safe to handle but always consult the Test Kit Instructions and SDS for storage and handling recommendations.
What is freeze-dried Luminase?
Luminase is manufactured using a process called freeze-drying. This maximizes enzyme stability prior to use. Before using this product, it must first be rehydrated by mixing the rehydration liquid buffer into the freeze-dried powder. Mix GENTLY to help facilitate dissolution of the enzyme pellet and then allow it to dissolve for at least 5 minutes at room temperature. Take care to avoid contamination when removing the glass vial stopper.
Rehydrated (Liquid) enzyme
How should I store Luminase (both in freeze-dried and liquid format)?
Consult the Test Kit Instructions for storage recommendations. Our freeze-dried enzyme has greatly enhanced shipping and in the freeze-dried format it will be stable for 2 years.
Freeze-dried storage: When you receive your shipment with enzyme, the freeze-dried Luminase can be stored in the refrigerator or freezer for best long-term storage. In freeze-dried form, Luminase is stable for 2 years.
Rehydrated (Liquid) enzyme: For best results, store rehydrated Luminase in the fridge or freezer between use. Always allow it to come to room temperature naturally before use. When stored frozen between uses, your Luminase should be good for 3-6 months from the date prepared. When refrigerated in between use, 2-4 weeks is the typical useful life.
You can freeze/thaw luminase as often as required. For the longest possible lifespan however, only thaw bottles of Luminase as required for sample analysis. You can leave the Luminase ATP enzyme at room temperature where it has a nominal shelf life of 1-3 weeks depending on the type of enzyme. To extend the lifespan, however, store it in the fridge overnight whenever possible.
Warning: do not use a heating element, incubator, oven, flame or water bath to warm up cold or frozen Luminase prior to use. The rehydrated Luciferase enzyme is very sensitive to high temperatures. Even brief exposure to temperatures above 40C (105 F) can cause rapid and permanent activity loss. It's best to allow the Luminase to warm up naturally in the ambient environment prior to use. Generally, 1 hour at room temperature is sufficient for this. You may warm the enzyme in your hands using body heat to help speed up the transition from frozen to liquid.
Luminase should be disposed as normal waste. Consult the SDS for Luminase for additional information.
Luminase Enzyme and Buffer
How do I know when my Luminase is below its optimum sensitivity and I should start using a new bottle?
In general, the UltraCheck calibration values obtained for the various formulations of Luminase should be greater than or equal to the following:
Luminase: >5,000 RLU
Luminase XL: >50,000 RLU
Luminase W: >500 RLU
What is the difference between Luminase, LuminaseXL, LuminaseW and LuminaseLite Enzyme?
All of these reagents are of the Luminase family of reagents but they differ only in activity levels and are customized to function with the methods for which they are specified. In some cases, it may be possible to substitute more active for less active formulations to provide additional sensitivity. Contact Technical Support for details.
- Normal Luminase (Orange Label) = baseline regular Luminase used in most kits for a wide range of contamination levels (QGA, DSA, QGOM, QG21I).
- LuminaseW (Brown Label) = has 1/10 the activity of regular Luminase for highly active or contaminated samples. It's used only in the Wastewater test kit (ex. QG21W).
- Luminase Lite Enzyme (Green label) = roughly 1/5 the activity of regular Luminase. Used for AccuLight Basic test kit.
- LuminaseXL (Blue label) = roughly 10x the activity of regular Luminase. Used in any XL test method for samples with low levels of microbial growth (ex. QGA-XL, DSA-XL, QG21S, QGOM-XLPD).
The activity loss of Luminase is essentially linear from whatever the starting activity of the reagent happens to be. For example, if your starting UltraCheck 1 calibration for Luminase is 15,000 RLU and it drops to 5,000 after 4 months, you would see similar magnitudes in reduction for LuminaseW (1,500 to 500), AccuLight Enzyme (3,000 to 1,000), and LuminaseXL (150,000 to 50,000 RLU) over the same period.
Does the temperature affect my results?
Only the temperature of the Luminase enzyme will affect the results and this should be at room temperature when running the assay.
Cell activity, however, will vary based on the temperature - at lower temperatures, cellular metabolism and reproduction are slowed therefore ATP levels will be reduced. This is why it's recommended that samples be tested immediately at ambient temperature to ensure you're getting the most representative results.
If samples were stored cold, allow them to return to ambient temperature before running the test protocol.