Biological methods immunoassays

It is obvious from the provisional risk assessment values for microcystins, and, being of the same order of magnitude of mammalian toxicity, similar values may be calculated for the cyanobacterial neurotoxins, that sensitive detection methods are required to detect these low concentrations of toxins. Of the biological methods of detection discussed earlier, the mouse and invertebrate bioassays are not sensitive enough without concentration of water samples, in that they are only able to detect mg of microcystins per litre. Only the immunoassays (ng-/rg 1 and the protein phosphatase inhibition assays (ng O... 

A series of methods, such as HPLC with fluorimetric detection, LC, MS, immunoassays, and functional assays, such as the phosphatase inhibition assay, shall be used as alternatives or supplementary to the biological testing methods, provided that either alone or combined they can detect at least the following analogues, that they are not less effective than the biological methods, and that their implementation provides an equivalent level of public health protection ... 

To overcome the difficulties encountered with the bioassays and TLC methods, immunoassays using specific polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies have been developed for most of the major trichothecene mycotoxins and their metabolites.73 These antibodies have been used to produce simple, sensitive, and specific radioimmunoassays (RIAs) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) for the mycotoxins. In the presence of the sample matrix, the lower detection limits for identification of trichothecene mycotoxins by RIA is about 2 to 5 ppb73 and by ELISA, 1 ppb.74 We conclude that immunoassays are useful tools for screening biomedical samples for evidence of a biological warfare attack with trichothecene mycotoxins. 

A review pubHshed ia 1984 (79) discusses some of the methods employed for the determination of phenytoia ia biological fluids, including thermal methods, spectrophotometry, luminescence techniques, polarography, immunoassay, and chromatographic methods. More recent and sophisticated approaches iaclude positive and negative ion mass spectrometry (80), combiaed gas chromatography—mass spectrometry (81), and ftir immunoassay (82). 

The biological and medical sciences are ripe for iastmmentation advances. Whereas most immunoassays (qv) use radioactive materials, the implementation of chemiluminescent methods, enzyme techniques, and electrochemical methods is expected to become more important. New and better noninvasive methods of iavestigation are expected to become more routine. In addition, real-time measurements, whereby analyses of a number of... 

The methylxanthines can be determined in foods and biological systems by the chromatographic methods of TLC, GC, HPLC, or CE. Ultraviolet spectroscopy following a separation procedure can also be used. More recently, immunoassay methods have been developed. There is no single best method the analyst must balance the features of each assay with the final requirements for data precision and reproducibility. 

Most of the reported methods of analysis of valproic acid and its sodium salt in biological fluids rely on the use of chromatography, especially gas chromatography, although high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is also reported. Other methods, such as flow injection analysis, enzyme-immunoassay, fluorescence-polarization capillary electrophoresis, and potentiometry are sometimes used. The reported methods can be classified as follows. 

Acrylonitrile metabolites have been measured in blood and urine, but, except for measurement of thiocyanate, these methods have not been developed for routine monitoring of exposed humans. Supercritical fluid extraction/chromatography and immunoassay analysis are two areas of intense current activity from which substantial advances in the determination of acrylonitrile and its metabolites in biological samples can be anticipated. The two techniques are complementary because supercritical fluid extraction is especially promising for the removal of analytes from sample material and immunoassay is very analyte-selective and sensitive (Vanderlaan et al. 1988). 

C.A. Wijayawardhana, H.B. Halsall, and W.R. Heineman, Milestones of electrochemical immunoassay at Cincinnati. Electroanalytical Methods for Biological Materials 329-365 (2002). 

Applying different CL systems, continuous-flow CL-based detection of several analytes has been widely applied for determination of several biological compounds and drugs. This technique has already become a highly sensitive method of detection in FIA, in liquid and gas chromatography, and in immunoassays [6-12],... 

Biological techniques, e.g., immunoassays, are among the most sensitive analytical methods, but are limited by the availability of the specific antisera and are subject to cross-reactivity. Huang et al. [36] employed an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for determination of estradiol, its conjugates, and ethynylestradiol in wastewaster treatment plant effluents (see Table 4). The reported limit of detection (LOD) of 0.1 ng L 1 reflects the sen-... 

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