ASSAY OF THE POLYAMINE SPERMINE BY A MONOCLONAL ANTIBODY-BASED ELISA

Spermine-specific monoclonal antibodies were prepared by immunising mi ce with protein-spermine conjugates. A resulting monoclonal antibody, IAG-1, exhibited both high affinity for spermine (binding constant 5.5 X 10(7) M-1) and high specificity, cross-reacting only weakly with sp ermidine. Using this antibody a competitive ELISA was developed with a detection limit of 1 pmol. The assay has been used to quantify spermi ne content of plant tissues, without derivatization, and producing wit hin 6 h of collection, values for the spermine content which are simil ar to published data obtained by HPLC.