A SENSITIVE AND SPECIFIC ENZYME-IMMUNOASSAY FOR CYCLOMALTOHEPTAOSE AND SOME DERIVATIVES

Antibodies were raised against cyclomaltoheptaose (beta-cyclodextrin), providing a highly sensitive enzyme immunoassay for beta-cyclodextrin and some derivatives with a detection limit of 120 pg/mL. Investigati ons of cross-reactivities with a wide variety of linear and cyclic mal tooligosaccharides demonstrate that the antibodies are highly specific for cyclomaltoheptaose and a number of derivatives. The epitope is pr obably located on the secondary hydroxyl groups of the rim side. This enzyme immunoassay is shown to be suitable to detect cyclomaltoheptaos e in urine and in plasma.