Polyacrylic microspheres as a solid phase for microparticle enhanced nephelometric immunoassay (NEPHELIA (R)) of transferrin.

Polyfunctional hydrophilic microspheres (MS) can be produced by copolymerisation with gamma-irradiation of acrylic monomers. Transferrin (TRF) can be covalently bound to these MS by reaction between aldehyde groups of the MS and primary amino groups of the protein. MS-TRF conjugates thus obtained are agglutinated by specific antiserum and this agglutination is inhibited by free TRF. Agglutination and inhibition are quantified by measurement of the light scattered by MS-TRF conjugate clusters with a specially designed nephelometer, a process designated as microparticle enhanced nephelometric immunoassay (NEPHELIA (R)) for TRF. Recovery, correlation and reproducibility studies, simultaneously performed in three different laboratories, show that this TRF immunoassay is accurate for a large concentration range. NEPHELIA (R) may appear as an alternative method for a large variety of molecules.