A MODIFIED CATALASE ASSAY SUITABLE FOR A PLATE READER AND FOR THE ANALYSIS OF BRAIN-CELL CULTURES

The enzyme catalase is present in relatively small amounts in neural t issue. A standard spectrophotometric assay for catalase has been modif ied to make it suitable both for automated assay with a plate reader a cid for the analysis of neural cell cultures. Catalase activity is det ermined by measuring residual hydrogen peroxide after incubation with the enzyme. Ferrous ions and thiocyanate are used for the spectrophoto metric determination of hydrogen peroxide. The stable visible absorpti on of ferrithiocyanate can be measured either with a plate reader or a spectrophotometer. The method assays catalase activity from single we lls of a tissue culture plate containing 2-3 mg of embryonic rat mesen cephalon.