Buprenorphine Urine HEIA

When compliance testing is the main goal of an application, getting an accurate screening result for Buprenorphine is crucial.

Highly specific to free Buprenorphine and Norbuprenorphine, this innovative immunoassay for the qualitative and semi-quantitative detection of buprenorphine shows virtually no cross-reactivity to commonly prescribed opiates and opioids.

The antibody employed binds specifically and almost equally to free buprenorphine and its main metabolite norbuprenorphine.

The Immunalysis HEIA™ Buprenorphine assay shows an excellent performance with respect to precision (CVs < 6 %), linearity (R = 0,9995) and sensitivity (sensitivity limit = 0.32 ng/mL) on the Beckman Coulter AU400 analyser system.

The assay provides an adequately sensitive and specific screening for buprenorphine in urine samples at a cut-off concentration of 5 ng/mL.

Assay Characteristics

  • Antibody specific to Buprenorphine and Norbuprenorphine
  • Extremely low cross-reactivity to morphine and other opioids, i.e. codeine, dihydrocodeine, tramadol, etc.
  • Liquid, ready-to-use reagents, calibrators, and controls – no reconstitution
  • Application protocols for all major clinical chemistry analysers
  • Packaging tailored to your laboratory’s needs
  • Use of synthetic material to enhance stability of calibrators and controls and decrease risk of contamination

Background

Buprenorphine is a semi-synthetic opioid derived from thebaine, a natural alkaloid of the opium poppy. As a powerful analgesic with an approx. 25 to 40 times higher potency than morphine, buprenorphine has been used for several years now as medication for moderate to severe pain, in peri-operative analgesia, and for the treatment of heroin addiction in replacement therapy.

Buprenorphine is widely used to prevent withdrawal symptoms. It may itself cause dependency and there is considerable potential for diversion and abuse. Typical signs for a buprenorphine overdose include confusion, dizziness, pinpoint pupils, hallucinations, hypotension, respiratory difficulty, seizures and coma.

Buprenorphine is metabolized by N-dealkylation to norbuprenorphine, followed by glucuronide conjugation of both buprenorphine and norbuprenorphine. The amount of norbuprenorphine excreted in urine generally exceeds that of conjugated buprenorphine.