Antibodies for immunoassays

What is an immunoassay without an antibody? Clearly the name provides the answer to this question; without antibodies there would be no immunoassays. An immunoassay is an analytical technique, quantitative or qualitative, that relies absolutely on the specificity and affinity of the interaction between epitope and paratope for generation of a detectable response. The actual detection of this binding interaction can be via one of literally hundreds of different signal transduction mechanisms, e.g., fluorimetry, chemiluminescence, agglutination (turbidimetry or nephelometry) enzyme reactions, and so forth (1 -4), but these are simply transducing systems for the primary binding interaction. Antibodies thus provide us with an exquisitely sensitive and specific analytical technology for detecting and quantifying epitopic structures. These structures include amino-acid derivatives, e.g., thyroid hormones, peptides, e.g., vasopressin, proteins, e.g., cytokines, as well as carbohydrate structures, e.g., CA-125. Immunoassay technology has developed to such an extent that it is probably the most versatile analytical tool available able to identify and quantify epitopic structures across the milli- to zeptomolar concentration ranges (2).