Use of detergents in the preparation of Salmonella samples for enzyme immunoassay on polymyxin-coated polyester cloth.

Heating Salmonella cells in the presence of detergents such as deoxycholate or Triton x-100 greatly increased the sensitivity of an enzyme immunoassay for lipopolysaccharide antigens using polymyxin-coated polyester cloth as the solid phase for antigen capture. The presence of a 100-fold excess of E. coli lipopolysaccharide in the test sample did not affect the detection of the Salmonella lipopolysaccharide. The sensitivity of the assay using deoxycholate-heat treatment of the antigens followed by detection on polymyxin-coated cloth was equivalent to that of an assay using antibody-coated polyester cloth for antigen capture.