Detection of tetanus antitoxin using Eu3+-labeled anti-human immunoglobulin G monoclonal antibodies in a time-resolved fluorescence immunoassay

Jörg P. Schröder, Wolf D. Kuhlmann
Department of Immunology, Ernst-Rodenwaldt-Institut, D-5400 Koblenz, Federal Republic of Germany

Tetanus antitoxin in human sera was detected with solid-phase immunoassays in microtitration modules coated with tetanus toxoid by using Eu3+ -labeled antihuman monoclonal antibodies on the basis of an exactly calibrated antibody standard. The use of a time-resolved fluorescence immunoassay (TR-FIA) significantly improved the quantitative detection of tetanus antitoxin over that of the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique because of its high sensitivity and its wide measurement range, detecting antibody levels between 0.001 and 12.5 IU/ml with a single serum dilution of 1:100. For the same purpose, two different serum dilutions (1:100 and 1:1,000) were needed in the ELISA technique.