For Immediate Release:

 Superior Stock Nitrate Reductase: "Proven Excellence"

Superior Stock Nitrate Reductase (YNaR1) was introduced last year by The Nitrate Elimination Co., Inc. (NECi) to replace its older version of NaR.  And YNaR1 has now been shown to have  "Proven Excellence" in performance and stability.

 February 8, 2005

 Contact: Ellen R. Campbell, VP, 906-296-1000, ellenr@nitrate.com

Key features of the YNaR1 are:

• Proven high performance in automated Nitrate Analysis and NECi Nitrate Test Kits

• Easy to store - YNaR1 is stable for more than 3 months  at room temperature in the freeze-dried state; and

• Easy to use - YNaR1 is stable in solution for up to 3 weeks at room temperature. 

These features make it easy to keep new NECi Superior Stock NaR around without special storage conditions.  Overall, YNaR1 is better than the corn leaf NaR sold previously by NECi.  The new enzyme is more highly purified and cheaper!  New NECi Superior Stock NaR utilizes NADH as electron donor to catalyze complete reduction of nitrate to nitrite at room temperature with greater efficiency. This enzyme form is derived from the yeast, Pichia angusta, which was formerly called Hansenula polymorpha.  YNaR1 was recombinantly expressed in Pichia pastoris, a commercially available protein expression system (1, 2, 3).

Recently, the USGS cooperated with NECi to demonstrate that the combination of NECi corn leaf NaR and NADH is an effective replacement for cadmium in automated nitrate analysis (4).  More recently, Patton and coworkers at USGS in cooperation with NECi have shown that the new NECi Superior Stock NaR (YNaR1) is a very satisfactory replacement for the corn leaf enzyme (2, 5).  In fact, NECi Superior Stock NaR gives better results since YNaR1 is easier to handle due to its stability at room temperature in dilute solutions.  Lower cost for NECi Superior Stock NaR makes the Enzymatic Automated Nitrate Analysis method more competitive in price with cadmium reduction method.  If you are interested in trying NaR-based automated nitrate analysis with your equipment, contact NECi to discuss your needs and the new NECi Superior Stock NaR. 

NECi Superior Stock NaR was developed under a series of Small Business Innovative Research grants from the National Institutes of Health (Contract # R44GM56598) and with NECi R&D funds.

References:

1. Barbier, Guillaume G., and Wilbur H. Campbell (2000) Expression of Pichia angusta nitrate reductase (YNaR1) in Pichia pastoris.  Current Topics in Gene Expression Systems: Program and Abstracts, Abstract PY 4, p. 64.

2. Campbell, WH, T Kinnunen-Skidmore, MJ Brodeur-Campbell & ER Campbell (2004) New and improved nitrate reductase for enzymatic nitrate analysis.  American Laboratory 22(10): 12.

3. Barbier, GG, JC Joshi, ER Campbell & WH Campbell (2004) Purification and biochemical characterization of simplified eukaryotic nitrate reductase expressed in Pichia pastoris.  Protein Expression and Purification. 37: 61-71.

4. Patton, Charles J., Anne E. Fischer, Wilbur H. Campbell, and  Ellen R. Campbell (2002) Corn leaf nitrate reductase: A nontoxic alternative to cadmium for photometric nitrate determinations in water samples by air-segmented continuous-flow analysis. Environmental Science and Technology, 36: 729-35.

5. Patton, CJ, J Kryskalla, ER Campbell & WH Campbell (2004) Replacing Toxic Cadmium with Environmentally Benign Nitrate Reductase in Automated Continuous Flow and Batch Determinations of Nitrate in Environmental Water Samples:  An Overview.  PittCon2004, Chicago, IL, March 9, 2004. Abstract: 12000 – 200.

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