ABUSED DRUG QUANTIFICATION BY ENZYME IMMUNOASSAY IN ALL BODY FLUIDS

THE OBJECTIVE IS TO QUANTIFY BY SPECTRAL ABSORBANCE THE SIGNIFICANT METABOLITES OF BEHAVIOR-MODIFYING DRUGS IN URINE, BLOOD (HEMOLYZED), AND BREATH COMPARTMENTS USING RELEVANT ANTIBODIES. GUIDELINES ARE TO STATE THAT POSITIVES SHOULD BE CONFIRMED BY GC-MS. IN INSTANCES WHERE GC-MS IS NOT READILY AVAILABLE, OR AT SITES NOT ALWAYS ACCESSIBLE TO A MAIN LABORATORY, POSITIVES ARE CALLED "SUGGESTIVE" BUT NOT "DEFINITIVE". RELIABLE SENSITIVITY AND ACCURACY HAVE BEEN ACHIEVED IN PROTOTYPE TESTS REQUIRING MINIMAL MANIPULATION. EFFECTIVE PROCEDURES ARE SUITED TO INSTRUMENTS RANGING FROM A BATTERY-OPERATED HAND-HELD DEVICE TO ADVANCED BENCH-TOP COMPONENTS APPROPRIATE FOR AUTOMATION WITHOUT COMPROMISING ACCURACY. DETECTION OF MULTIPLE DISCRETE DRUG METABOLITES USING SINGLE OR MULTIPLE PLASTIC STRIPS PERMITS PROCESSING OF ONE TO SEVERAL HUNDRED SAMPLES SIMULTANEOUSLY IN A SINGLERUN. THIS IS USEFUL FOR RANDOM SCREENING, REHABILITATION STUDY, AND FOR-CAUSE DRUG DETECTION. PURIFIED IGGS ARE IMMOBILIZED IN MICROCONTAINERS. INCUBATION OF STANDARD (CALIBRATOR) AND ENZYME DRUG CONJUGATE IS FOLLOWED BY WASH AND SUBSTRATE ADDITION. COLOR DEVELOPS, AND ABSORBANCE IS DETERMINED AND TRANSLATED BY MICROPROCESSOR INTO NANOGRAMS/MILLILITER. PORTABLE AND BENCH FORMATS HAVE BEEN THOROUGHLY TESTED. THE LATTER CAN BE COUPLED TO AUTOMATIC PIPETTORS OR PRINTERS, DESIGNED TO PROCESS SAMPLESREADILY IN PARALLEL AND REQUIRING MINIMUM HANDS-ON TIME.