Sensitive, rapid procedure for time-resolved immunofluorometry of lutropin.

In this new immunofluorometric method for quantification of lutropin in serum, the "sandwich" principle is combined with time-resolved fluorescence measurements, with the europium chelate 4,7-bis(chlorosulfophenyl)-1,10-phenanthroline-2,9-dicarboxylic acid (BCPDA) used as label. A monoclonal antibody to the alpha-subunit of lutropin is adsorbed onto the walls of white-opaque microtiter wells to form the solid-phase capture antibody, and a biotin-labeled soluble monoclonal antibody is used for antigen quantification. The detection system is completed with streptavidin, which has been linked to a protein bulking agent labeled with multiple BCPDA residues. In the presence of excess europium, the fluorescence of the final complex attached to captured lutropin molecules is measured on the dried solid phasse with an automated time-resolved fluorometer. The assay can be performed as a rapid (less than 60 min incubation) or regular (150 min incubation) procedure. The rapid assay is well-suited for routine daily monitoring of increasing or ovulatory lutropin concentrations; the regular assay, with its greater sensitivity (0.5 int. unit/L), is a practical procedure for lutropin measurements in hyposecretory states. The assay measures up to 240 int. units/L, and results compare well with those by a commercially available radioimmunoassay, an immunoradiometric assay, and another time-resolved immunofluorometric procedure.