Development of an Immuno-PCR Protocol for Detection of a Small Amount of Antigen / 대한진단검사의학회지

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Immuno-PCR has been known as a highly sensitive and specific method, yet no standardized protocol is available. We analyzed each step of immuno-PCR to develop a reliable standardized method. METHODS: We made a protocol modified from several methods reported previously, and performed immuno-PCR, but false positive reactions were noted. To reduce the false positivity, we investigated the buffer reagents and biotin-labelled oligo-nucleotide probe. Using a finally determined protocol, we compared the detection-limits of the immuno-PCR and ELISA methods. RESULTS: Streptavidin was identified as a main reagent causing a non-specific binding, thus it was replaced by neutravidin. The employment of CAS block as a dilution buffer for the biotin-labelled oligo-nucleotide probe and Casein block as a buffer for the detection antibodies resulted in a dramatic reduction in the false positive reactions. The standardized immuno-PCR detected angiogenin antigen at a concentration as low as 5 fg/mL, while an ELISA method detected 5 pg/mL. CONCLUSIONS: The immuno-PCR procedure newly described in this study was ultra-sensitive with no false positivity. This method can be utilized as an epochal tool for detection of a small amount of antigen which would not be discovered by ELISA method.