Description
Book SynopsisAnalyses for naturally occurring biological substances or administered materials have been with us for many years. These were usually based on the physical or chemical characteristics of the substances to be measured. However in recent years there has been an explosion of interest in analytical methods which made use of the high specificity and sensitivity of im munological reactions. These methods can be very simple in terms of technical procedures and can usually be performed on minute samples of biological fluids - factors which have ensured their ready acceptance in most laboratories. Recently there have been numerous meetings on technical aspects of particular immunoassays and on their application in specific diseases. We felt however that the time was ripe for an 'overview' of the whole field. To this end a conference on 'Immunoassays for the 80s' was held at the Zoological Society of London in 1980, and this book is largely based on that meeting. Both the immunoassay techniques and their numerous applications were discussed and are dealt with at length in this volume. The editors wish to thank all the contributors for their chapters and to acknowledge the debt they owe to Jean Ryan (NLCM) without whose organization and assistance this volume would not have been completed. A.V., D.B., A.B.
Table of ContentsI Immunoassay Techniques.- 1. Historical perspectives.- 2. Merits and disadvantages of different labels and methods of immunoassay.- 3. Assays utilizing red cells as markers.- 4. Particle counting immunoassay (PACIA): an automated non-radioisotopic immunoassay method, suitable for antigens, haptens, antibodies and immune complexes.- 5. Precipitation and related immunoassay techniques.- 6. Radioimmunoassay.- 7. Heterogeneous enzyme immunoassays.- 8. Immunoassays employing reactants labelled with a fluorophore.- 9. Chemiluminescence and its use in immunoassay.- 10. New homogeneous assay methods for the determination of proteins.- 11. Antisera in immunoassays with special reference to monoclonal antibodies to human immunoglobulins.- 12. External quality assessment schemes for immunoassays.- 13. The control of performance in immunoassays.- 14. Components in a model for the production of reference materials with special reference to immunoassays.- 15. Standardization of immunological reagents.- II Applications of Immunoassays.- 16. Steroid immunoassays in endocrinology.- 17. Immunoassays in pharmacology and toxicology.- 18. Immunoassays in autoimmune disease.- 19. Radioimmunoassays in allergy.- 20. Immunoassay screening for open neural-tube defects: practical aspects.- 21. Immunoassays in haematology.- 22. Immunoassays in tissue typing.- 23. Immunoassays for acute phase proteins.- 24. Rapid virus diagnosis.- 25. Viral hepatitis with special reference to hepatitis B.- 26. Immunoassays for hepatitis A.- 27. Immunoassays for the TORCH programme.- 28. Current status of specific IgM antibody assays.- 29. Enzyme immunoassays in bacteriology.- 30. Immunoassays in mycology.- 31. Some applications of immunoassays in tropical parasitic infections.- 32. Immunoassays in veterinary medicine.- 33. Immunoassays in plant virology.
