• Korean Journal of Animal Reproduction
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.133-139
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• 1985

An immunoassay may be defined as an analytical procedure involving the competitive reaction between a limiting concentration of specific antibody and two populations of antigen, one of which is labelled or immobillized. The advent of immunoassay has revolutionised our knowledge of reproductive physiology and the practice of veterinary and clinical medicine. Radioimmunoassay (RIA) was the first of these methods to be developed, which meausred the analyte with good sensitivity, accuracy and precision (1,2). The essential components of RIA are:-(i) a limited concentration of antibodies, (ii) a reference preparation, and (iii) an antigen labelled with a radioisotope (usually tritium or iodine-125). Most procedures invelove isolating the antibody-bound fraction and measuring the amount of labelled antigen. Good facilities are available for scintilltion counting, data reduction nd statistical analysis. RIA is undergoing refinement through:-(i) the introduction of new techniques to separate the antibody-bound and free fractions which minimize the misclassification of labelled antigen into these compartments, and the amount of non-specfic binding. (3), (ii) the development of non-extration for the measurement of haptens (4), (iii) the determination of a, pp.rent free (i.e. non-protein bound) analytes (5), and (iv) the use of monoclonal antibodies(6). In 1968, Miles and Hales introduced in important new type of immunoassay which they termed immunora-diometric assay (IRMA) based on t도 use of isotopically labelled specific antibodies(7) in a move from limited to excess reagent systems. The concept of two-site IRMAs (with a capture antibody on a solid-phase, and a second labelled antibody to a different antigenic determinant of the analyte) has enabled the development of more sensitive and less-time consuming methods for the measurement of protein hormones ovar wide concentration of analyte (8). The increasing use of isotopic methos for diverse a, pp.ications has exposed several problems. For example, the radioactive half-life and radiolysis of the labelled reagent limits assay sensitivity and imposes a time limit on the usefulness of a kit. In addition, the potential health hazards associated with the use and disposal of radioactive cmpounds and the solvents and photofluors necessary for liquid scientillation counting are incompatable with the development of extra-laboratory tests. To date, the most practical alternative labels to radioisotopes, for the measurement of analytes in a concentration > 1 ng/ml, are erythrocytes, polystyrene particiles, gold sols, dyes and enzymes or cofactors with a visual or colorimetric end-point(9). Increased sensitivity to<1 pg/ml may be obtained with fluorescent and chemiluminescent labels, or enzymes with a fluorometric, chemiluminometric or bioluminometric end-point. The sensitivity of any immunoassay or immunometric assay depends on the affinity of the antibody-antigen reaction, the specific activity of the label, the precision with which the reagents are manipulated and the nonspecific background signal (10). The sensitivity of a limited reagent system for the measurement of haptens or proteins is mainly dependent upon the affinity of the antibodies and the smalleest amount of reagent that may be manipulated. Consequently, it is difficult in practice to improve on the sensitivity obtained with iodine-125 as the label. Conversely, with excess reagent systems for the measurement of proteins it is theoretically possible to increase assay sensitivity at least 1000 fold with alternative luminescent labels. To date, a 10-fold improvement has been achieved, and attempts are being made to reduce the influence of other variables on the specific signal from the immunoreaction.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.121-136
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• 2002

Immunosensors are of great interest because of their potential utility as specific, simple, label-free, direct detection means and provision of reduction in size, cost and time of analysis comparing with conventional immunoassay. In the last two decades, many reports have been published on the use of immunosensors for a wide range of applications to clinical diagnostics, pharmaceutical chemistry, environmental monitoring, biotechnology and food industries. There are also numerous transduction techniques developed such as electrochemical techniques, piezoelectric crystal, and surface plasmon resonance receiving much attention for the direct monitoring of immune reactions at solid surfaces. In this article, the principles, characteristics, structures, fonctions and clinical applications of immunosensors were reviewed

• BMB Reports
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.130-134
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• 2014

The combination of a high-affinity antibody to a hapten, and hapten-conjugated compounds, can provide an alternative to the direct chemical cross-linking of the antibody and compounds. An optimal hapten for in vitro use is one that is absent in biological systems. For in vivo applications, additional characteristics such as pharmacological safety and physiological inertness would be beneficial. Additionally, methods for cross-linking the hapten to various chemical compounds should be available. Cotinine, a major metabolite of nicotine, is considered advantageous in these aspects. A high-affinity anti-cotinine recombinant antibody has recently become available, and can be converted into various formats, including a bispecific antibody. The bispecific anti-cotinine antibody was successfully applied to immunoblot, enzyme immunoassay, immunoaffinity purification, and pre-targeted in vivo radioimmunoimaging. The anti-cotinine IgG molecule could be complexed with aptamers to form a novel affinity unit, and extended the in vivo half-life of aptamers, opening up the possibility of applying the same strategy to therapeutic peptides and chemical compounds.