ANTIGEN-ANTIBODY COMPLEX FORMATION WHEN COUPLED WITH MARKER TECHNIQUES CONSTITUTE AS IMPORTANT AREA OF RESEARCH AND CLINICAL RESEARCH, TECHNIQUES OF COVALENTLY BINDING THESE IMMUNO-MACRO-MOLECULES TO DESIRED MARKERS BY IMPROVED PROCEDURES IS THE OBJECT

ANTIGEN-ANTIBODY COMPLEX FORMATION WHEN COUPLED WITH MARKER TECHNIQUES CONSTITUTE AS IMPORTANT AREA OF RESEARCH AND CLINICAL RESEARCH, TECHNIQUES OF COVALENTLY BINDING THESE IMMUNO-MACRO-MOLECULES TO DESIRED MARKERS BY IMPROVED PROCEDURES IS THE OBJECT OF THIS STUDY. TO DETECT LOW LEVELS OF ANTIGENIC BEHAVIOR BY MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES RAPIDLY, A NEW PREACTIVATED LATEX MICROPARTICLE SYSTEM WILL BE SYNTHESIZED TO ENHANCE THE EASE OF TAGGING SUCH ANTIGENS WITH ANTIBODIES. THE MICROPARTICLES WILL BE PREACTIVATED WITH N-HYDROXYSUCCINIMIDE ESTER UNITE AND LYOPHILIZED TO PREVENT HYDROLYTIC DEGRADATION ON STORAGE. BY SELECTING APPROPRIATE MONOMERS, HIGHLY CROSS-LINKED MICROPARTICLES OF HIGH POLARITY WILL BE FORMED WHICH REACT COVALENTLY WITH PROTEIN. HIGH DENSITY OF THE NEW LATEX PARTICLES WILL PERMIT EASY SEPARATION FROM SERUM. THEIR HIGH POLARITY WILLREDUCE OR ELIMINATE NON-SPECIFIC BONDING OF ANTIGENS. THESEPARTICLES WILL BIND TO MONOCLONAL ENTIBODIES WITHOUT FURTHERACTIVATION. BECAUSE OF THEIR HIGH DENSITY AND FLUORESCENCE OF THE LATEX TAG, THE MICROPARTICLE-ANTIBODY WILL PERMIT DETECTION OF LOW CONCENTRATIONS OF ANTIGENS BY FLOW CYTOMETRY OF AGGLUTINATION PROCEDURES. THE PRE-ACTIVATED NATURE OF MICROPARTICLES SHOULD GREATLY REDUCE PROCESSING TIME. IN PHASE I, THE FEASIBILITY OF PREPARING TECHNOLOGICALLY NOVEL LYOPHILIZED, PRE-ACTIVATED HIGH DENSITY LATICES AND THE SUITABILITY OF USING THESE MATERIALSFOR LOW-LEVEL ANTIGEN DETECTION WILL BE STUDIES. PHASE II WILL DEAL WITH OPTIMIZATION OF LATEX COMPOSITIONS OF PARTICLE SIZES AND OF VOLUME PRODUCTION OF LATICES. COMMERCIALLY, SUCH MATERIALS WILL FIND APPLICATION IN THE DETECTION OF THE ANTIGENIC ACTIVITY OF HEMATOLOGIC COMPONENTS OR HEMATOPOIETIC HAROMNES WITH APPROPRIATE ANTIBODIES.