Enzyme conjugation conjugates

Lipoic acid exists as a mixture of two structures a closed-ring disulfide form and an open-chain reduced form (Figure 18.33). Oxidation-reduction cycles interconvert these two species. As is the case for biotin, lipoic acid does not often occur free in nature, but rather is covalently attached in amide linkage with lysine residues on enzymes. The enzyme that catalyzes the formation of the lipoamide nk.2Lg c requires ATP and produces lipoamide-enzyme conjugates, AMP, and pyrophosphate as products of the reaction. 

The use of glutaric dialdehyde as a coupling agent bound the enzymes trypsin or glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase to the surface. A large part of the enzymic activity was retained (Fig. 4), and the activity was such that the particle-enzyme conjugate could be used in laboratory scale continuous-flow reactors. 

Figure 2 Immobilized antigen ELISA format. Antigen is immobilized to a solid phase by passive adsorption. Following removal of unbound antigen, analyte (free H) and antigen (H-protein) compete for a fixed number of primary antibody (Y) binding sites. Unbound materials are removed (dotted line). Secondary antibody-enzyme conjugate (Y-E) is added to bind to primary antibody followed by another wash step. Substrate (A) for the enzyme is added to detect the bound enzyme. The amount of colored product ( ) detected is inversely proportional to the amount of analyte present...

Direct and indirect competition formats, illustrated in Figure 1, are widely used for both qualitative and quantitative immunoassays. Direct competition immunoassays employ wells, tubes, beads, or membranes (supports) on to which antibodies have been coated and in which proteins such as bovine semm albumin, fish gelatin, or powdered milk have blocked nonspecific binding sites. Solutions containing analyte (test solution) and an analyte-enzyme conjugate are added, and the analyte and antibody are allowed to compete for the antibody binding sites. The system is washed, and enzyme substrates that are converted to a chromophore or fluorophore by the enzyme-tracer complex are added. Subsequent color or fluorescence development is inversely proportionate to the analyte concentration in the test solution. For this assay format, the proper orientation of the coated antibody is important, and anti-host IgG or protein A or protein G has been utilized to orient the antibody. Immunoassays developed for commercial purposes generally employ direct competition formats because of their simplicity and short assay times. The price for simplicity and short assay time is more complex development needed for a satisfactory incorporation of the label into the antibody or analyte without loss of sensitivity. 

Figure 1 Schematic of an enzyme immunoassay. (1, 2) The test solution and enzyme conjugate are added to a tube or well pre-coated with anti-anal) e antibodies. (3) After the inhibition step, the solid phase is washed, and only antibody-bound material is retained. (4A-C) Colorless substrate is added and is converted to a visible color in inverse proportion to the amount of analyte in the sample...

The following protocol represents a generalized method for protein thiolation using SATA. For comparison purposes, contrast the variation of this SATA modification method as outlined in Chapter 20, Section 1.1 for use in the preparation of antibody-enzyme conjugates. 

SMCC frequently is used to prepare hapten-carrier or antibody-enzyme conjugates. In both applications, one of the molecules is activated (usually the carrier or the enzyme) with the... 

The following protocol illustrates the use of SIAB in preparing antibody-enzyme conjugates using P-galactosidase. 

The major enzymes used in ELISA technology include horseradish peroxidase (HRP), alkaline phosphatase (AP), (3-galactosidase (P-gal), and glucose oxidase (GO). See Chapter 26 for a detailed description of enzyme properties and activities. HRP is by far the most popular enzyme used in antibody-enzyme conjugates. One survey of enzyme use stated that HRP is incorporated in about 80 percent of all antibody conjugates, most of them utilized in diagnostic assay systems. 

AP is the second most popular choice for antibody-enzyme conjugation, being used in almost 20 percent of all commercial enzyme-linked assays. Although P-gal and GO are used frequendy in research and cited numerous times in the literature, their utilization for commercial ELISA applications represents less than 1 percent of the total assays available. 

The following sections describe the most common chemistries used to create antibody-enzyme conjugates. 

Antibody-enzyme conjugate formation through thioether bond... 

Glutaraldehyde was one of the first and still is one of the most commonly used crosslinking agents available for creating antibody-enzyme conjugates. The crosslinking process using... 

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