Ligand binding assay standards

Laboratory investigations play an essential role in medicine. Laboratory results are taken into consideration in about two thirds of all medical decisions in medical systems of industrialized countries today. The vast majority of clinical chemistry analyses are based on few analytical principles including photometry, ligand binding assays and potentiometry. For these standard methods complete automation has been achieved and multi-channel, random access analyzers realize several hundred analyses per instrument and hour on a very high level of user-friendliness. Consequently, clinical chemistry is very cost efficient today typically clinical chemistry analyses contribute less than 5 % of all costs of tertiary care hospitals. 

The ultimate goal of an assay or an analytical procedure is to measure accurately a quantity or a concentration of an analyte, or to measure a specific activity, as in some assays for biomarkers. However, many activity assays, such as cell-based and enzyme activity assays, may not be very sensitive, may lack precision, and/or do not include the use of definitive reference standards. Assays based on measurements of physicochemical (such as chromatographic methods) or biochemical (such as ligand-binding assays) attributes of the analyte assume that these quantifiable characteristics are reflective of the quantities, concentration, or biological activity of the analyte. For the purpose of bioanalytical method validation, we will follow the recently proposed classifications for assay data by Lee et al. [4,5]. These classifications, as summarized below, provide a clear distinction with respect to analytical validation practices and requirements. 

For each in-study run, the standard curve must satisfy criteria described in the standard-curve section however, run acceptance is based primarily on the performance of the QC samples. When using total error for ligand binding assays of macromolecules, the run acceptance criteria recommended in the precision and accuracy section requires that at least four of six (67%) QC results must be within 30% of their nominal values, with at least 50% of the values for each QC level satisfying the 30% limit. The recommended 4-6-30 rule imposes limits simultaneously on the allowable random error (imprecision) and systematic error (mean bias). If the application of an assay requires a QC target acceptance limit different than the 30% deviation from the nominal value, then prestudy acceptance criteria for precision and accuracy should be adjusted so that the limit for the sum of the interbatch imprecision and absolute mean RE is equal to the revised QC acceptance limit. 

A limitation of the flow cytometric binding assay has been the precise determination of the receptor affinity and calculation of the receptors per cell. This limitation appears to have been overcome by the development of fluorescein and phycoerythrin compensation-calibration standards (Flow Cytometry Standards Corp., Research Triangle Park, NC). These standards have made it possible to quantify the fluorescence intensity of samples labeled with fluorescein or phycoerythrin, and relate the intensity to molecules of equivalent soluble fluorochrome. These standards have been utilized in quantitative studies of neutrophil chemoattractant-ligand interaction (4). 

Protein Assay. Protein was determined by the Coomasie Blue binding assay with alcohol dehydrogenase as the standard (Pierce Chemical Company, Rockford, IL). For systems containing PEG-dye ligands, an identical system containing no protein was used as a control. 

Surfece plasmon resonance (SPR) measures adsorption of material onto a planar metal (typically gold) surface and provides a very powerful tool for protein binding assays by analyzing the protein-ligand association and dissociation. Typically, pure protein is immobilized in buffer solution at different densities (according to the chips) using standard coupling reactions followed by ethanol-amine deactivation of the surfaces. A control surface is also prepared in the same manner in the absence of protein. 

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