Comparison of turbidimetric and light-scattering measurements of immunoglobulins by use of a centrifugal analyzer with absorbance and fluorescence/light-scattering optics.

We have developed a centrifugal analyzer with both fluorescence/light-scatter and conventional absorbance optics. The instrument is used in this investigation to study the formation of antigen-antibody complexes by light scattering and turbidimetric measurements, and to develop assays for human immunoglobulins G, A, and M. Concentrations are calculated from a nonlinear least-squares fit of calibrators, and antigen excess is automatically detected from kinetic curve characteristics. Precisions and patients' results are presented, and assay sensitivity and reliability in the detection of antigen excess are compared. We also investigated the effects of centrifugal force on complex formation. Both nephelometry and turbidimetry can be very satisfactorily adapted to centrifugal analyzers. We present a model to describe the observed differences between the light-scatter and the turbidity data.