A NOVEL IMMUNOASSAY FOR PALYTOXIN

A NOVEL NON-ISOTOPIC IMMUNOASSAY WILL BE DEVELOPED FOR PALYTOXIN THAT IS SUFFICIENTLY SENSITIVE AND RAPID TO BE SUITABLE FOR THE DETECTION OF PALYTOXIN EXPOSURE IN THE FIELD. WE HAVE DEVELOPED A PROPRIETARY METHOD, THE AB-FLIA, AND SUCCESSFULLY APPLIED IT TO THE ANALYSIS OF LUTEINIZING HORMONE (LH), A HORMONE FOUND IN VERY LOW LEVELS IN SERUM AND URINE. THIS METHOD WILL BE SUITABLY MODIFIED AND APPLIED TO THE ANALYSIS OF PALYTOXIN. DURING PHASE I, TWO COMPETITIVE ASSAY APPROACHES WILL BE DEVELOPED: THE FIRST HAS THE PALYTOXIN ANTIBODY BOUND TO THE MICROTITER WELL: THE SECOND HAS THE TOXIN ITSELF BOUND TO THE MICROTITER WELL. IN BOTH METHODS, THE SIGNAL WILL BE INVERSELY PROPORTIONAL TO THE AMOUNT OF PALYTOXIN IN THE SAMPLE. THE POLYCLONAL ANTIBODY IS HIGHLY SPECIFIC FOR PALYTOXIN. THE NOVEL LABEL IS A VERY STABLE, NON-ENZYMATIC LABEL WHICH GENERATES AN EASILY DETERMINED COLOR CHANGE. A MAJOR ADVANTAGE OF THE METHOD IS THE LABEL IN THE AB-FLIA. IT IS WELL SUITED TO AN ASSAY THAT CAN BE USED OUTSIDE OF STRICTLY CONTROLLED LABORATORY CONDITIONS AND CAN BE DETECTED IN MINUTE QUANTITIES. THE ULTIMATE GOAL IS A RAPID ULTRA-SENSITIVE ASSAY FOR PALYTOXIN THAT IS ROBUST ENOUGH TO BE USED IN THE FIELD TO DETECT PALYTOXIN EXPOSURE.