HARNESSING IMMUNOCHEMICAL CROSS-REACTIVITY - USE OF PATTERN-RECOGNITION TO CLASSIFY MOLECULAR ANALOGS

Immunoassay of molecular analogs against panels of antibodies can be u sed to define reproducible patterns of cross-reaction which represent distinctive ''spectra'' of the primary antigen and its analogs. Sample s containing these compounds can thus be analyzed by applying pattern matching algorithms to the spectral signatures. Compared to convention al immunoassays, which are limited in their utility by the cross-react ivity of monoclonal antibodies against related molecular analogs, cros s-reaction immuno-spectrum (CRISP) profiling improves reliability of a nalyte identification, with an accompanying improvement in the accurac y of analyte quantification. We demonstrate the advantages of profilin g in the context of environmental monitoring, using monoclonal antibod ies to the widely applied family of triazine herbicides as a test case .