An enzyme linked immunosorbent assay for measurements of lactoferrin in duodenal aspirates and other biological fluids.

A sensitive and specific enzyme linked immunoassay for lactoferrin is described. The assay is designed to estimate lactoferrin concentrations in samples of duodenal aspirate, but is suitable for other biological fluids as well. The detection limit was 4.7 pmol/l. Within and between assay reproducibility was 41 and 178 pmol/l (1 SD), respectively, at a concentration of 1974 pmol/l. In the fasting state the concentration of lactoferrin in duodenal aspirates of three normal subjects ranged from 0-390 pmol/l and increased to 2860-14,820 pmol/l after pancreatic stimulation.