Brunswick Laboratories LLC, Wareham, MA, announced the commercial availability of its superoxide radical absorbance capacity (S-ORAC) assay and its ORAC assay for oil-in-water emulsions (ORAC-E). The new tests complement Brunswick’s panel of ORAC assays and are important new analytical tools in Brunswick’s selection of antioxidant testing services, executives said.
“As radicals go, superoxide is a uniquely important target because it is the precursor to hydrogen peroxide, hydroxyl radical and peroxynitrite,” said Boxin Ou, Ph.D, senior research scientist, Brunswick. “Quenching of superoxide can have a multiplier effect in the prevention of the other radicals as well. And a large number of cosmetic products rely upon emulsions in their finished matrix. Until now, testing of the antioxidant capacity of these formulations has not been reliable.”
The company currently offers assays for four radicals—peroxyl, hydroxyl, peroxynitrite and superoxide—and has assays for two more radicals currently under development, Mr. Bell added. More info: David Bell, E-mail: dbell@ brunswicklabs.com.