Antibody-based methods for surfactant screening

This brief overview summarises the immunoassay-based results obtained in the course of two years of the European INCO-Copernicus project BIOTOOLS. The project is aimed at simplifying the procedures for detection of surface active compounds (SAC) using, among others, antibody-based methods, i.e., microtiter plate-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA), polarisation fluoro immunoassays (PFIA), and enzyme flow injection immunoassays (FIIA). Thirty-three rabbits were immunised with five different sulphophenyl moieties and three p-hydroxyphenyl moieties conjugated to protein immunogens to produce analytical antibodies against linear alkylbenzene sulphonates (LAS) and nonylphenol (NP). Although most of the antibodies exhibited binding reaction in indirect ELISA, only a few showed the required assay sensitivity. The best antibodies for LAS exhibited a 50% binding inhibition at IC50 19.8 microg L(-1) in indirect ELISA. Similar inhibition was observed for direct ELISA using peroxidase tracers. Antibodies against NP allowed the establishment of an indirect assay operating in the mg L(-1) range. A rapid and simple protocol for the screening of NP and LAS using homogeneous PFIA is described. The assay time for 10 samples was 7 minutes, thus allowing fast detection of the selected SAC at the mg L(-1) level. A generic competitive FIIA system, using a protein G column for separation of free and antibody-bound beta-galactosidase (beta-Gal) tracer, was developed for the screening of LAS, NP, and nonylphenol decaethoxylate (NPEO10). The FIIA had a sample throughput (STP) of 5-10 samples per hour, with limits of detection (LOD) for LAS, NP, and NPEO10 of 19.5, 52, and 2.4 microg L(-1), respectively. The developed FIIAs were applied to spiked rain and surface water.