The assay uses Lumit® technology, which relies on labelled primary antibodies that, in the presence of insulin, form a fully functional NanoBiT® luciferase enzyme. The addition of substrate produces a luminescent signal proportional to insulin levels, eliminating the need for fixation, dissociation or wash steps. Results are available in just 70 minutes, making the assay particularly well-suited to perifusion experiments and high-throughput screening applications where sample numbers are large.
“Insulin secretion measurement is central to metabolic disease research, from GLP-1 receptor agonist potency testing to beta cell function assessment,” said Darren Heywood, senior product manager, Promega UK. “Current methods are laborious and time-consuming, often requiring extended assay windows and multiple handling steps. Our new Lumit Insulin Immunoassay addresses this directly – it tracks insulin in a simple add-mix-read format that delivers results faster and with greater confidence, helping researchers accelerate drug discovery and get more actionable data.”
Researchers at Imperial College London, led by Dr Ben Jones, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction, used the Lumit Insulin Immunoassay to differentiate the potency and activity of three GLP-1 receptor agonist drug candidates. It achieved comparable results to an established Insulin HTRF assay, but with a faster one-hour protocol, compared to four hours, and a broader linear range.
The Lumit Insulin Immunoassay joins Promega’s expanding range of metabolic disease solutions, complementing the Lumit® Glucagon Immunoassay and integrated cell health assays, including CellTiter-Glo® Luminescent Cell Viability Assay and Caspase-Glo® 3/7 Assay, providing researchers with a comprehensive toolkit for metabolic disease research.
The Lumit® Insulin Immunoassay is available now from Promega UK in two kit sizes: W8010 (100 assays in 96-well format or 400 in 384-well format) and W8012 (500 assays in 96-well format or 2,000 in 384-well format). For further information, visit Lumit® Insulin Immunoassay or contact your local Promega representative.
