Protein immunoassay

Protein peroxidation Modified tyrosines GC/MS, HPLC, immunoassays Protein carbonyls Atomic absorption spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, HPLC... 

Research on microchip protein analysis has been very active for cellular protein functional assay, clinical diagnostics, and proteomics studies. Once again, the microfluidic technology plays an important role in protein assays. Immunoassay, protein separation, and enzymatic assay will be described in detail in subsequent sections. 

Major labelled immunoassays include RIA, ElA, fluoroimmunoassay, chemiluminescence immunoassay, protein microarrays, and simplified immunoassay. 

While a wide range of opportunities exist, such as environmental, clinical, and trace analysis, the principal application for labs-on-a-chip is in the analysis of biological samples. The miniaturized dimensions allow extremely small sample volumes to be analyzed, and a microchip format can allow chemical reaction, mixing, sample manipulation, and multiplexing to be performed. Single-cell analysis, immunoassays, protein and peptide separations, DNA analysis and sequencing, and polymerase chain reactions have all been performed on microchip devices [48]. 

Clinical analysis, immunoassays Proteins, hormones, herbicides, drugs Sensitivity is enhanced combined with fluorescence resonance energy transfer, homogeneous assays... 

Latex agglutination immunoassays are easily formatted into simple kits which can provide yes/no and semiquantitative estimates of antigen (or antibody) in a sample. The first such assay was developed in 1957 for rheumatoid factor (15) and assays are on the market for the deterrnination of many species of bacteria, fungi. Mycoplasma, parasites, ckettsia, and vimses, as well as for the deterrnination of autoimmune disease, hormones (qv), dmgs (see Pharmaceuticals), and blood proteins (16). Latex agglutination is also the basis of many home pregnancy tests. 

Fig. 7. Fluorescence polarization (FP). (a) The formation of the large FITC—protein A—IgG complex which leads to a net increase in plane polarized light transmitted from the solution. Molecular weights of the protein A-FITC, IgG, and complex are ca 43,000, 150,000, and 343,000, respectively, (b) Detection of IgG by fluorescence polarization immunoassay using A, a laboratory fluorimeter where (O) represents AP = change in polarization, and B, a portable detection unit where (D) is —fiV = change in voltage (27). The field detector proved to be more sensitive than the fluorimeter.

Traditional appHcations for latices are adhesives, binders for fibers and particulate matter, protective and decorative coatings (qv), dipped goods, foam, paper coatings, backings for carpet and upholstery, modifiers for bitumens and concrete, and thread and textile modifiers. More recent appHcations include biomedical appHcations as protein immobilizers, visual detectors in immunoassays (qv), as release agents, in electronic appHcations as photoresists for circuit boards, in batteries (qv), conductive paint, copy machines, and as key components in molecular electronic devices. 

ImmunO lSS iy. Chemiluminescence compounds (eg, acridinium esters and sulfonamides, isoluminol), luciferases (eg, firefly, marine bacterial, Benilla and Varela luciferase), photoproteins (eg, aequorin, Benilld), and components of bioluminescence reactions have been tested as replacements for radioactive labels in both competitive and sandwich-type immunoassays. Acridinium ester labels are used extensively in routine clinical immunoassay analysis designed to detect a wide range of hormones, cancer markers, specific antibodies, specific proteins, and therapeutic dmgs. An acridinium ester label produces a flash of light when it reacts with an alkaline solution of hydrogen peroxide. The detection limit for the label is 0.5 amol. 

Biomedical Applications. TRIS AMINO is used for a number of purposes in its pure form, it is an acidimetric standard the USP grade can be utilized intraveneously for therapeutic control of blood acidosis TRIS AMINO also is useful in genetic engineering as a buffering agent for enzyme systems, industrial protein purification, and electrophoresis. AMP has found use as a reagent in enzyme-linked immunoassays. The primary appHcation is for alkaline phosphatase assays. 

Radiotracers have also been used extensively for the quantitative rnicrodeterrnination of blood semm levels of hormones (qv), proteins, neurotransmitters, and other physiologically important compounds. Radioimmunoassay, which involves the competition of a known quantity of radiolabeled tracer, usually I or H, with the unknown quantity of semm component for binding to a specific antibody that has been raised against the component to be deterrnined, is used in the rnicro deterrnination of physiologically active materials in biological samples (see Immunoassay). 

Body fluids are analyzed for T and T by a variety of radioimmunoassay procedures (31) (see Immunoassays). The important clinical parameter for estimating thyroid function, the protein-bound iodine (PBI), is measured as described in treatises of clinical chemistry. High performance Hquid chromatographic (hplc) methods have replaced dc (32,33). 

Applications. Immunoassays are used in many different disciplines, having clinical, industrial, agricultural, and environmental appHcations. This technique has made possible rapid analysis of such varied analytes as vimses, toxins, hormones, foreign proteins, dmgs, and insecticides. 

Typically, quantitative protein determination is done on the one hand by colorimetric or nephelometric methods, on the other hand for more difficult analytical problems by more sophisticated techniques such as high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), gel-electrophoresis and immunoassay. However, these methods are tedious, time-consuming and expensive. 

After screening for toxicity, identification and/or quantification assays may need to be carried out if the screening method is not specific for the cyanobacterial toxin(s) under investigation. Suitable assays for these purposes include the physicochemical assays, HPLC, MS, and CE, and to some extent the immunoassays and protein phosphatase inhibition assays summarized in Section 2. 

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... 

The sensitivity of enzyme assays can also be exploited to detect proteins that lack catalytic activity. Enzyme-linked immunoassays (ELlSAs) use antibodies covalently finked to a reporter enzyme such as alkafine phosphatase or horseradish peroxidase, enzymes whose products are readily detected. When serum or other samples to be tested are placed in a plastic microtiter plate, the proteins adhere to the plastic surface and are immobilized. Any remaining absorbing areas of the well are then blocked by adding a nonantigenic protein such as bovine serum albumin. A solution of antibody covalently linked to a reporter enzyme is then added. The antibodies adhere to the immobilized antigen and these are themselves immobilized. Excess free antibody molecules are then removed by washing. The presence and quantity of bound antibody are then determined by adding the substrate for the reporter enzyme. 

In a preliminary report, Ross et al. [40] used affinity chromatography to identify a putative bovine renal brush border Na /H exchanger. Brush border membranes were solubilized with Triton X-100 and chromatographed sequentially over lentil lectin Sepharose 4B and 5-(A-benzyl-iV-ethyl)amiloride coupled to epoxy-activated Sepharose 6B. The eluant contained 178- and 146-kDa proteins that were susceptible to Endo-F. Moreover, the eluants reacted on dot blot immunoassays with antisera to a 20-amino acid peptide of a human Na /H exchanger vide infra). The relationship between these proteins and the 66-kDa protein previously identified by the same investigators using amiloride photolabeling is presently unclear. 

Seiki, K., Oda, H., Yoshioka, H., Sakai, S., Urisu, A., Akiyama, H., and Ohno, Y. (2007). A reliable and sensitive immunoassay for the determination of crustacean protein in processed foods. /. Agric. Food Chem. 55, 9345-9350. 

Figure 1 Schematic of the quasi-equihbria using heterologous haptens in coating antigen immunoassay formats. Ka represents the equilibrium constant for binding of antibody (Y) to target analyte (A). Kh is the equilibrium constant for the binding of antibody to hapten-protein conjugate (H-) immobihzed on a solid phase...

Sandwich ELISAs (Eigure 4) are the most common type of immunoassay used for the detection of proteins. A capture antibody is immobilized on the wells of a microplate. The solution containing the analyte is introduced and antibody-analyte... 

Figure 4 Sandwich immunoassay. A capture antibody (Y) is passively adsorbed on a solid phase. The target protein contained in the sample and the enzyme-labeled reporter antibody (Y-E) are added. Both the capture antibody and enzyme-labeled reporter antibody bind to the target protein at different sites, sandwiching it between the antibodies. Following a wash step, the substrate (<>) is added and colored product ( ) formed. The amount of colored product is directly proportional to the amount of target protein captured...

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