Radioimmunoassay: an overview.

The historical development, principle and theory of the radioimmunological test are described, together with the necessary test components, separation techniques and experimental procedure. The emphasis on different areas of diagnosis that rely on radioimmunoassay is compared for two institutions. Methods for the determination and presentation of reliability criteria are described, and the current status of quality control of radioimmunological methods is discussed. Three high grade mechanized systems and five fully mechanized or automated systems for radioimmunological assays are presented. Future trends in the development of radioimmunoassay can be predicted with the aid of general growth criteria.