Enzyme-linked coagulation assay: V. Amplified blotting assays using snake venom conjugates.

We have previously reported an ultrasensitive microtiter plate assay, enzyme-linked coagulation assay (ELCA), which can measure a factor X activator isolated from Russell's viper venom (RVV-XA) at concentrations less than 0.1 amol/sample. The high sensitivity of this assay is derived from enzyme amplification via the clotting cascade in combination with the utilization of enzyme-labeled solution-phase and unlabeled solid-phase fibrinogen. Modification of the ELCA assay to detect RVV-XA directly bound to nitrocellulose, ELCA blot, as described in this report, allowed the detection of blotted RVV-XA at amounts as low as 2 fg. The high sensitivity of the ELCA blot was utilized to develop an immunodetection system for Western blots, the ELCA immunoblot, and a biotin/avidin protein stain for blotted membranes, biotin/avidin ELCA blot. For the ELCA immunoblot, using RVV-XA-labeled antibodies we were able to detect blotted placental alkaline phosphatase at amounts two orders of magnitude lower than those when using peroxidase-labeled antibodies. Using an avidin-RVV-XA conjugate in the biotin/avidin ELCA blot, 1 ng of biotinylated fibrinogen and 100 pg of biotinylated placental alkaline phosphatase, which had been subjected to electrophoresis and transferred to a nitrocellulose membrane, were visualized. These data support the general utility of the ELCA system for assay amplification on solid-phase matrices and demonstrate considerable potential of this methodology in "blotting" applications.