Labeling digoxin antibody with colloidal gold and ferrocene for its use ina membrane immunostrip and immunosensor

Current trends in the development of on-site diagnostic tests using immunod etection principles are proceeding in two directions: toward the immunochro matography test strip and toward the immunosensor. To develop both applicat ions for the detection of digoxin, we prepared multilabeled antibody conjug ates using colloidal gold and ferrocene. Prior to applying the digoxin anti body in immunochromatography, we constructed a dose-response curve with the digoxin antibody by enzyme immunoassay under optimized conditions. From th e results, we found it was possible to detect as little as 10(-5) mu g/ml ( 1.28 x 10(-11) M) digoxin, which is within the therapeutic and toxic ranges of digoxin. First, this antibody was labeled with ferrocene as a sensor si gnal generator. As the ferrocene moiety increased, electroactivity also inc reased, but immunoreactivity between digoxin and its antibody was constant as ascertained from the molar ratio of its conjugate which was up to 1:35. And the immunoreactivity of the conjugate with molar ratio 1:125 dropped by 50%. Thus, after determining the optimum molar ratio (1:35) of antibody to ferrocene, this ferrocene-conjugated antibody was labeled with colloidal g old for the visual recognition of color in the strip. This immunostrip coul d detect a digoxin level of 1 mu g/ml (1.28 x 10(-6) M) within 2 min. (C) 1 999 Academic Press.