A sensitive manual enzyme immunoassay for thyroxine

We describe an immunoassay for thyroxine in serum. In the assay specific antibody covalently bonded to latex particles is used, along with horseradish peroxidase as the label, and o-phenylenediamine as the chromogen. The flexible protocol is designed for manual execution. Performance is similar to that of the highest-sensitivity thyroxine radioimmunoassays. Results correlate well with radioimmunoassay (r = 0.99, slope = 0.93, y-intercept = 2.4 microgram/liter for 201 samples) and an automated enzyme immunoassay (r = 0.97, slope = 0.99, y-intercept = 4.7 coefficients of variation are less than 7.2% over the entire useful range of the assay (20--240 microgram/liter). The limit of detection is less than 94 pg/tube at 20 microgram/liter. Only D-thyroxine is known to interfere with serum assays. This assay has no discernible protein effect from 40 to 80 g of protein per liter, unlike many thyroxine radioimmunoassays. Serum preservatives known to be peroxidase inhibitors do not adversely affect assay performance because of the 56-fold dilution in the final assay mixture. Hemolyzed serum and EDTA-treated plasmas are unsuitable for this assay.