Urine assay (also known as Dry Chemistry or Dipstick) is a basic diagnostic tool for determining various pathological changes in a test subject’s urine sample. Other applications include foodstuff and water test for determining water quality. The test strip consists of a single to multiple test pads which change color when the strip is dipped into the urine or other test sample.
Urine test strip is a very simple format compared to other test strips. It is comprised of only membrane test pads (parameters) attached onto plastic backing. In general, 1 to 12 target specific test pads can be affixed to a single test strip for multiple analyses.
Some of the more common urine analysis items on the market are; Blood, Bilirubin, Urobilinogen, Ketones, Protein, Nitrite, Glucose, pH, Specific Gravity, Leucocytes, and Ascorbic acid.
Following charts describe a typical production procedure for automated and batch (scaled-down) production method. They have been outlined to give you a general understanding of how the process works and the applicable equipment at each of the production stage.
STAGE | AUTO PROCESS | PROCESS DETAILS | APPLICABLE EQUIPMENT (Click to View) |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Reagent Treatment | Impregnating membrane by dipping and drying to produce treated MEMBRANE roll |
OAU-300 |
2 | Lamination 1 | 1) Lamination of TAPE (Double-sided) onto membrane 2) Splitting of wide roll into multiple narrow strip rolls to produce laminatable membrane rolls |
SMU-300 |
3 | Lamination 2 | Lamination of strip rolls onto support backing to produce master (finished) card / sheet |
LAU-900 |
4 | Slitting | Slitting or cutting of master sheet to produce individual test strips |
RAU-600 RCU-200 |
5 | Bottling | Bottling the test strips to produce a final product in a bottle |
NA |
STAGE | BATCH PROCESS | PROCESS DETAILS | APPLICABLE EQUIPMENT (Click to View) |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Reagent Treatment | Impregnating membrane (manually) to produce treated MEMBRANE sheet |
NA |
2 | Drying | Drying of treated membrane sheet | NA |
3 | Lamination 1 | Lamination of TAPE (Double-sided) onto membrane to produce tape applied membrane sheet |
NA |
4 | Slitting | Slitting of membrane sheet to produce laminatable membrane strips |
RSU-100 |
5 | Lamination 2 | Lamination of membrane strips onto support backing to produce master (finished) card / sheet |
NA |
6 | Cutting | Cutting of master sheet to produce individual test strips |
RCU-200 |
7 | Bottling | Bottling the test strips to produce a final product in a bottle |
NA |
*The listed order of process is of the more common procedure in most cases. The actual sequence, however, may vary depending on operator’s preference and other factors such as items produced, QC measures, and etc.