Development of Monoclonal and Polyclonal Antibodies Suitable for a Commercial Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) ELISA

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is a synthetic chemical which does not occur naturally in the environment,it has been used in many commercial applications. A number of scientific findings since the late 1990's have elevated PFOAs to the category of great environmental concern beacuse of its persistence, and the potential for bioaccumulation and biomagnification. Effective environmental and health protection requires the sensitive and efficient detection of PFOA in various sample matrices such as foods, water, soil, sediment, blood, etc. Therefore, faster and less expensive analytical methods such as ELISA for the detection of PFOA are ideal for the establishment of efficient and cost-effective screening programs for these compounds. The purpose of this project is to develop the immunoreagents (polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies) which react with PFOAs with sufficient selectivity, affinity and avidity to be utilized in the development of a commercial immunoassay system.