Dried Staphylococcus aureus as a rapid immunological separating agent in radioimmunoassays

A rapid (less than or equal to 60 seconds) immunological separation of antigen-antibody complexes from free antigen has been developed in radioimmunoassays (RIAs) of luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), prolactin (PRL) and beta-endorphin by using suspensions of dried Staphylococcus aureus rich in protein-A. In the systems tested parallel dose-response curves were obtained for protein-A and second antibody precipitations. The sensitivity of the protein-A method is equal to or higher than that of second antibody method. Tissue culture medium and serum hormone levels measured with RIAs using protein-A are similar to those detected with double antibody methods. The technique may be of general use in all RIAs utilizing antisera from species whose IgG are known to be bound by protein-A.