Solution assays overview

Isolation and Assays of Enzymes or Substances Resulting in Formation or Removal of Oxygen Radicals Biological sources of Of, 105, 59 overview of superoxygenase, 105, 61 methods for the study of superoxide chemistry in nonaqueous solutions, 105, 71 generation of superoxide radicals in aqueous and ethanolic solutions by vacuum-UV photolysis, 105, 81. 

The most common, but by no means the only or even the most promising, immunochemical assay for small molecules is radioimmunoassay (R1A). As an overview, an immunoassay involves chemically attaching the small molecule of interest (or a derivative of it) to a carrier protein and raising specific antibody titers to it in the serum of an animal. Very dilute antibody solutions are then used to bind the small molecule which has been radiolabeled. The competition of varying known concentrations of unlabeled material is measured and the resulting standard curve used to determine unknown concentrations (Table 1). The steps leading to the development of an R1A are outlined below followed by a description of other immunochemical procedures and an analysis of the attributes and limitations of immunoassay. 

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