DEVELOPMENT OF ANTIBODIES AGAINST HYDROXYATRAZINE AND HYDROXYSIMAZINE- APPLICATION TO ENVIRONMENTAL-SAMPLES

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) selective for hydroxyatra zine and hydroxysimazine was developed as a means of monitoring enviro nmental and microbial degradation of atrazine to hydroxyatrazine. This ELISA was tolerant to solvents, salts, and pH changes and functioned well in a series of matrices (water, soil, horse manure, urine, and fu ngal extracts). In preliminary bioremediation studies conducted in a d rum impervious to UV light, the microbes endogenous to horse manure co nverted approximately 1 % of the total initial amount of atrazine to h ydroxyatrazine. Also, a UV-resistant strain of white rot fungus (Phane rochaete chrysosporium) was tested for its ability to degrade atrazine . Using the ELISA described here, approximately half of the time zero amount of atrazine (2 mug/35-mm Petri dish) was gone in 1 day and esse ntially all of the atrazine was converted to hydroxyatrazine, primaril y due to UV irradiation. This ELISA provided a valuable method to quan tify hydroxyatrazine and hydroxysimazine in a series of traditionally difficult matrices for the investigation of the bioremediation of atra zine.