COMPARISON OF A MONOCLONAL ANTIBODY-BASED ENZYME-LINKED-IMMUNOSORBENT-ASSAY AND GAS-CHROMATOGRAPHY FOR THE DETERMINATION OF NICOTINE IN CIGARETTE-SMOKE CONDENSATES

A competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) based on monoc lonal antibodies was developed to measure nicotine in smoke condensate s of cigarettes. The ELISA standard curve displays a detection limit o f 70 ng/mL and an effective working range of 0.3-4.0 mug of nicotine/m L. Using standard samples, ELISA results compare well with theoretical values (r = 0.997). The suitability of the method for industrial rout ine application was evaluated by measuring the nicotine concentration in 245 cigarette smoke condensates. When ELISA results were compared w ith those obtained by gas chromatography, a correlation coefficient r = 0.886 was obtained. The assay allows the specific, precise, and accu rate determination of nicotine, without any significant interference f rom other alkaloids also present in tobacco smoke. Preliminary data su ggest that the immunoassay could also be applied to other matrices, e. g., tobacco extracts. ELISA equipment requirements are minimum, simple , and low-cost, and an unskilled person could perform 150 analysis in a working day. On the basis of these features, ELISA is proposed as a promising alternative to instrumental methods for some industrial appl ications.