Detection and quantitation of T-2 mycotoxin in rat organs by radioimmunoassay.

A standard radioimmunoassay was compared with radiochromatography for the ability to detect unlabeled T-2 mycotoxin in organs from exposed animals. When 10% of HT-2, the only known metabolite that cross-reacts with T-2, was included and expressed as T-2 equivalents in the radiochromatographic detection, correlation between toxin detection in liver, spleen, and kidney by the 2 techniques was r = 0.98. An unknown metabolite was detected in heart extract by radiochromatography. Inclusion of this material in the T-2 equivalents detected by radiochromatography indicated a near-perfect correlation (r = 0.95; p greater than 0.05; slope = 0.82; y = intercept = 72) among all 4 tissues.

Detection of T-2 toxin by an improved radioimmunoassay.

T-2 toxin in serum, urine, and saline was analyzed by a modified radioimmunoassay procedure. The specimens were added directly to the assay tubes without extraction steps. The reaction between antibody and ligands was optimal at 1 h. Albumin-coated charcoal was used to separate bound from free radioactivity. Quenching, which occurred with hemolyzed specimens, was corrected by a wet oxidation process with 60% perchloric acid and 30% hydrogen peroxide. The shorter incubation times resulted in an assay that takes less than 6 h to complete. The average affinity constant of the antibody (Km) was 1.75 X 10(10) liters/mol. The sensitivity was 1 ng per assay or 10 ng/ml. Among the other trichothecenes tested, only H-T-2 cross-reacted significantly (10.3%).