A quantitative nitrocellulose enzyme immunoassay and its application to the screening of hybridomas for the detection of uncharacterized tumor-associated antigens in sera of cancer patients.

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay on nitrocellulose based microtiter plates for the detection of uncharacterized tumor associated antigens in squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma cancer patients' sera is described. Nitrocellulose microtiter plates are more sensitive than the plastic plates of polystyrene and polyvinyl chloride for the detection of antigens in serum. Monoclonal antibodies were selected for their net reactivities toward cancer patients' sera as compared to normal sera. Sera from benign liver and kidney disease patients and activated human peripheral blood leukocyte supernatant were used to reduce potential false positives toward inflammatory and benign diseases. Using this system, fourteen antibodies were selected out of over eight hundred antibodies for their potential serodiagnostic application.