[Production of labelled gamma globulin for the detection of Chlamydia]

A method was worked out for the production of an antichlamydial fluorescent serum to be used in the direct immunofluorescence test. Used were the methods of culturing Chlamydia in chick embryos and cell cultures, light and electron microscopy, differential centrifugation and supercentrifugation, gel chromatography in Sepharose, ultracentrifugation in saccharose, hyperimmunization of guinea pigs, conjugation of gammaglobulin with fluorescein isothiocyanate, complement fixation, and the direct immunofluorescence itself. Applied was a new immunologic scheme for the production of fluorescent sera. The guinea pigs were hyperimmunized twice and three times at 30-day intervals with highly purified, highly concentrated and adjuvant-treated chlamydial suspensions. It was concluded that the main condition for the production of high titer labelled gammaglobulins was to obtain purified and concentrated chlamydial antigens and use these with an adjuvant. To indicate Chlamydia in testing the conjugates it is essential to prepare standard test lamellas infected at high multiplicity of purified and concentrated Chlamydia.