Double-antibody method and the protein-A-bearing Staphylococcus aureus cells method compared for separating bound and free antigen in radioimmunoassay.

We compared the protein-A-bearing Staphylococcus aureus immunoadsorbent to the double-antibody precipitation method for separating bound and free radiolabeled antigen in a radioimmunoassay. With human albumin (antigen) and rabbit anti-human albumin (antibody) as a model, our results indicate that formalin-fixed, heat-killed S. aureus cells could be substituted for the double-antibody precipitation method. Ease of preparation and high adsorption capacity of protein-A-bearing S. aureus for most mammalian IgG make this method economical and time saving.