Precipitation flow injection immunoassay for human immunoglobulin G
Abstract
The development of a precipitation flow injection immunoassay is described. This approach is based on the immunoprecipitin reaction, whereby the precipitate formed by binding of the sample antigen (HIgG) to fluorescein-labelled antibodies is retained on a filter built in on-line in a flow-injection system. After dissolving the precipitate with sodium hydroxide solution the liberation of fluorescein-labelled antibodies results in a fluorescence signal that is directly proportional to the concentration of HIgG. The instrumental set-up is very simple and fully automated. One assay cycle takes about 10 min. The RSD ranged between 1 and 3%, depending on concentration. The detection limit was about 140 fmol. The recovery from spiked serum samples was between 96 and 102%.