Isolation of a specific antigen with alkaline phosphatase activity from soluble extracts of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis

A specific antigen of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis was isolated from a metabolic extract of the fungus. The extraction was made by specific adsorption to and subsequent elution from a column containing a cross linked polymer to which the antibodies of a monospecific rabbit serum had been covalently attached. The purity of the final product was demonstrated by immunodiffusion analysis of the eluate using immune serum produced in a sensitized rabbit. The purified antigen was shown to have cationic electrophoretic mobility and alkaline phosphatase activity.