Fluorescence immunoassay of α-1-fetoprotein with hemin as a mimetic enzyme labelling reagent

A novel mimetic enzyme immunoassay to determine α-1-fetoprotein (AFP) in solution was developed. Hemin, a horseradish peroxidase substitute, was used as a labelling reagent to catalyze the reaction of p-hydroxyphenylacetic (HPA) and hydrogen peroxide in alkaline media. In the competitive immunoassay, monoclonal anti-AFP antibody was coated on a 96-well plate (polystyrene) and a constant amount of hemin-labelled AFP and a known volume of test solution were added. Non-labelled and hemin-labelled AFP compete for binding to the plate-bound antibody. After the immunoreaction, the immunochemically adsorbed hemin-AFP conjugate moiety was determined by measuring the fluorescence produced in a solution containing HPA and hydrogen peroxide. The calibration graph for AFP was linear over the range 0 ∼ 380 ng/ well with a detection limit of 1.0 ng/well. The method has been applied to determine the AFP in human blood serum with satisfactory results. Received: 21 January 1998 / Revised: 1 April 1998 / Accepted: 4 April 1998     

Fluorescence immunoassay of α-1-fetoprotein with hemin as a mimetic enzyme labelling reagent

A novel mimetic enzyme immunoassay to determine α-1-fetoprotein (AFP) in solution was developed. Hemin, a horseradish peroxidase substitute, was used as a labelling reagent to catalyze the reaction of p-hydroxyphenylacetic (HPA) and hydrogen peroxide in alkaline media. In the competitive immunoassay, monoclonal anti-AFP antibody was coated on a 96-well plate (polystyrene) and a constant amount of hemin-labelled AFP and a known volume of test solution were added. Non-labelled and hemin-labelled AFP compete for binding to the plate-bound antibody. After the immunoreaction, the immunochemically adsorbed hemin-AFP conjugate moiety was determined by measuring the fluorescence produced in a solution containing HPA and hydrogen peroxide. The calibration graph for AFP was linear over the range 0 ～ 380 ng/ well with a detection limit of 1.0 ng/well. The method has been applied to determine the AFP in human blood serum with satisfactory results.     

Benzoylacetanilide as a spectrophotometric reagent for iron(III)

Benzoylacetanilide (BAA) forms violet colored complex Fe(BAA)₃ with Fe(III) in 60% alcohol with λmax at 540 nm. The stability constant (log K) and free energy of formation of the complex at 20 °C are log K = 7.8 ± 0.1 and ΔF = −10.53 kcal/mole, respectively. The molar adsorptivity, sensitivity, effect of diverse ions in spectrophotometric determination of iron have also been investigated.     

Fluorometric mimetic enzyme immunoassay of methotrexate

A new fluorometric immunoassay for methotrexate (MTX) was developed using the mimetic enzyme Mn(III)-tetrakis(sulfophenyl) porphine (Mn-TPPS₄) as a labelling reagent to catalyze the fluorescence reaction of 4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid (HPA) and hydrogen peroxide. In the competitive assay MTX (antigen) from human serum and Mn-TPPS₄ labelled MTX competitively react with antibody (anti-MTX) coated on a polystyrene 40-well plate. The Mn-TPPS₄ in the bound fraction, after the separation from the free fractions, was determined by measuring the fluorescence intensity between HPA and H₂O₂ catalyzed by bound Mn-TPPS₄ and MTX conjugate, which was anti-proportional to the concentration of MTX in the serum. MTX can be determined between 0.5 and 10 g/well with a detection limit of 100 ng/well.     

Diformylhydrazine as analytical reagent for spectrophotometric determination of iron(II) and iron(III)

The bidentate ligand diformylhydrazine (OHC-HN-NH-CHO), DFH, combines with iron(II) and iron(III) in alkaline media in the pH range 7.3-9.3 to form an intensely colored red-purple iron(III) complex with an absorption maximum at 470 nm. Beer's law is obeyed for iron concentrations from 0.25 to 13 microg mL(-1). The molar absorptivity was in the range 0.3258x10(4)-0.3351x10(4) L mol(-1) cm(-1) and Sandell's sensitivity was found to be 0.0168 microg cm(-2). The method has been applied to the determination of iron in industrial waste, ground water, and pharmaceutical samples.     

Spectrophotometric determination of trace amounts of iron(III) with norfloxacin as complexing reagent

The complexation of iron(III) with norfloxacin in acidic solution at 25 degrees C, at an ionic strength of about 0.3 M and a pH of 3.0 has been studied. The water-soluble complex formed, which exhibits an absorption maximum at 377 nm, was used for the spectrophotometric determination of trace amounts of iron(III). The molar absorptivity was 9.05 x 10(3) I mol-1 cm-1 and the Sandell sensitivity 6.2 ng cm-2 of iron(III) per 0.001 A. The formation constant (Kf) was determined spectrophotometrically and was found to be 4.0 x 10(8) at 25 degrees C. The calibration graph was rectilinear over the range 0.25-12.0 p.p.m. of iron(III) and the regression line equation was A = 0.163c - 0.00042 with a correlation coefficient of 0.9998 (n = 9). Common cations, except cerium (IV), did not interfere with the determination. The results obtained for the determination of iron(III) using the described procedure and the thiocyanate method were compared statistically by means of the Student t-test and no significant difference was found.     

Triethylsilane-indium(III) chloride system as a radical reagent

[reaction: see text] A novel generation method of indium hydride (Cl2InH) was found by the transmetalation of InCl3 with Et3SiH. In the intramolecular cyclization of enynes, the previously reported system (NaBH4-InCl3) has a problem of side reactions with the coexistent borane. In contrast, the problem was solved by the presented system, which affords effective hydroindation of alkynes.     

Specific features of tetranitrotetrazolium blue chloride as an extraction reagent for iron(III)

A liquid-liquid extraction-chromogenic system containing Fe(III), 4-(2-thiazolylazo)resorcinol (TAR), [3,3’-(3,3’-dimetoxy-4,4’-biphenylene)bis[2,5-di(4-nitrophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium] chloride (tetranitro-tetrazolium blue chloride, TNBT), water, and chloroform was studied and compared with similar systems containing such ditetrazolium salts (DTS), as neotetrazolium chloride (NTC), blue tetrazolium chloride, and nitro blue tetrazolium chloride. The results show that the complex formed in the Fe(III)–TAR–TNBT system is of different composition (1 : 3 : 2 vs. 1 : 2 : 1) and has better extraction-spectrophotometric characteristics (fraction extracted is 98.6 % and molar absorptivity, 7.8 × 10⁴ dm³ mol^–1 cm^–1 at λ = 495 nm). The proposed formula of the complex is (TNBT⁺)[Fe^III(TAR^2–)₂]·{(TNBT⁺)(HTAR^–)}, where TNBT is in the monocationic form. The geometry optimization for TNBT and NTC–the DTS, which does not contain nitro- and methoxy groups, was performed by the Restricted Hartree–Fock (RHF) method with the 3-21G* basis set. The obtained results (ground-state structures and total atomic charges) for TNBT, TNBT⁺, TNBT²⁺, NTC, and NT²⁺ were compared and discussed.     

Application of methyl parathion hydrolase (MPH) as a labeling enzyme

Methyl parathion hydrolase (MPH) is an enzyme that catalyzes the degradation of methyl parathion, generating a yellow product with specific absorption at 405 nm. The application of MPH as a new labeling enzyme was illustrated in this study. The key advantages of using MPH as a labeling enzyme are as follows: (1) unlike alkaline phosphatase (AP), horseradish peroxidase (HRP), and glucose oxidase (GOD), MPH is rarely found in animal cells, and it therefore produces less background noise; (2) its active form in solution is the monomer, with a molecular weight of 37 kDa; (3) its turnover number is 114.70 ± 13.19 s⁻¹, which is sufficiently high to yield a significant signal for sensitive detection; and (4) its 3D structure is known and its C-terminal that is exposed to the surface can be easily subjected to the construction of genetic engineering monocloning antibody–enzyme fusion for enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). To demonstrate its utility, MPH was ligated to an single-chain variable fragment (scFv), known as A1E, against a white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) with the insertion of a [–(Gly–Ser)₅–] linker peptide. The resulting fusion protein MPH-A1E possessed both the binding specificity of the scFv segment and the catalytic activity of the MPH segment. When MPH-A1E was used as an ELISA reagent, 25 ng purified WSSV was detected; this was similar to the detection sensitivity obtained using A1E scFv and the HRP/Anti-E Tag Conjugate protocol. The fusion protein also recognized the WSSV in 1 μL hemolymph from an infected shrimp and differentiated it from a healthy shrimp. Figure The 3-D structure of MPH. (a) monomer showing C- and N-terminals; (b) the crystal structure of the dimer W. Yang and Y.-F. Zhou contributed equally to this work.     

Cacotheline as a specific reagent for the detection of iron(II)

Summary Cacotheline gives a blue colour with iron (II) in the p_H range 5.2 to 7.8 in the presence of a suitable complexing agent like sodium oxalate or sodium citrate. The blue colour is not stable in air. It has now been shown that if the test is carried out in a Thunberg tube with the exclusion of air, the colour is quite stable at p_H 7.4 (McIlvaine buffer). This reaction affords a sensitive test for iron (II). In a test tube reaction, the limit of identification has been found to be 11 g in about 5 ml of solution. On a spot plate, the limit of identification has been found to be 0.5 g and the dilution limit 1100,000. On special Whatman spot filter paper No. 542, the identification limit has been found to be 0.3 g and the dilution limit 1166,000. The test can also be applied to iron (III) after reduction with sodium oxalate under a Philips' Repro lamp. Reducing agents like sodium sulphite, sodium thiosulphate, sodium hypophosphite, thiourea and ascorbic acid which reduce cacotheline to a pink coloured compound, just like iron (II) (in the presence of oxalate, etc.) in an acid medium, do not give the blue colour with cacotheline in the basic p_H range; Sb^III, As^III, U^III, U^IV, Cu^I, Cr^II, Ce^III, Sn^II, V^III, Ge^II, and Ti^III also do not give the blue colour with cacotheline under the conditions where iron (II) answers the test. The colour reaction now developed appears to be quite specific for iron (II).In conclusion, two of us, V. Narayana Rao and Mrs G. Somidevamma desire to thank the Ministry of Education, Government of India for the award of Research Scholarships.See also Z. analyt. Chem. 152, 346 (1956).     

Volumetric determination of iron (III) with hydroxylamine as a reducing agent

Summary A new volumetric method has now been developed for the determination of iron(III) through reduction to iron(II) with excess of hydroxylamine. The reduction is completed at the temperature of the boiling water bath in 10 min, keeping the acidity at 0.2–0.5 N sulphuric acid. The mixture is cooled and treated with enough 1 1 sulphuric acid to bring up the acidity to 6 N. It is then titrated with a standard solution of sodium vanadate, using N-phenyl anthranilic acid as inside indicator. Diphenyl benzidine, barium diphenyl sulphonate, or 1,10-phenanthroline cannot be used as indicators in this titration, because of the interference of the unreacted hydroxylamine.The method has been found to be very precise, and convenient. It has also the advantage that it is subject to fewer interferences than the existing methods.One of us, Mrs. G. Somidevamma, desires to thank the Ministry of Education Government of India for the award of Research Fellowship which enabled her to take part in this investigation.     

Reverse flow injection spectrophotometric determination of iron(III) using chlortetracycline reagent

A simple reversed flow injection colourimetric procedure for determining iron(III) was proposed. It is based on the reaction between iron(III) with chlortetracycline, resulting in an intense yellow complex with a suitable absorption at 435 nm. A 200 μl chlortetracycline reagent solution was injected into the phosphate buffer stream (flow rate 2.0 ml min⁻¹) which was then merged with iron(III) standard or sample in dilute nitric acid stream (flow rate 1.5 ml min⁻¹). Optimum conditions for determining iron(III) were investigated by univariate method. Under the optimum conditions, a linear calibration graph was obtained over the range 0.5–20.0 μg ml⁻¹. The detection limit (3σ) and the quantification limit (10σ) were 0.10 and 0.82 μg ml⁻¹, respectively. The relatives standard deviation of the proposed method calculated from 12 replicate injections of 2.0 and 10.0 μg ml⁻¹ iron(III) were 0.43 and 0.59%, respectively. The sample throughput was 60 h⁻¹. The proposed method has been satisfactorily applied to the determination of iron(III) in natural waters.     

Propericiazine as a reagent for the spectrophotometric determination of ruthenium(III)

Propericiazine forms an orange-red species with ruthenium(III) immediately in 6–8 M phosphoric or hydrochloric acid or 4.5–5.5 M sulphuric acid. The absorption maximum is at 511 nm and the molar absorptivity is 1.1 × 10⁴ 1 mol^?1 cm^?1. Beer's Law is obeyed over the range 0.2–9.4 mg 1^?1 (optimum range 0.5–9.0 mg 1^?1). Interferences are described. The method is used to determine ruthenium in synthetic zinc–magnesium alloy and uranium alloy (fuel) solutions.     

A new polymeric chromogenic reagent for dual-wavelength spectrophotometric determination of iron(III)

By condensing chitosan with 7-(4-formyl-phenylazo)-8-quinolinol-5-sulfonic acid (FPAQS), a new polymeric chromogenic reagent C-FPAQS has been synthesized and its properties investigated. In acidic media (pH 2.7), C-FPAQS reacts with iron(III) to yield an orange complex with a molar absorptivity of 2.8 × 10⁴ lmol^–1 cm^–1 at 420 nm, and in the meantime a negative peak at 524 nm. The apparent molar absorptivity (420–524 nm) obtained by dual-wavelength measurements is 7.9 × 10⁴lmol^–1cm^–1 which is about two times higher than that by single-wavelength measurements at 420 nm Beer's law is obeyed in the range of 0–0.8 g ml^–1 for iron(III). The developed method has been satisfactorily used to determine iron at the 0.03 to 3% (ww) level in a nylon-6 and in a soil sample. Compared to the corresponding low-molecular weight FPAQS and other chromogenic reagents, C-FPAQS has not only good sensitivity but also largely increased acid solubility and improved selectivity for iron, which may be explained by the incorporation of FPAQS into an acid-soluble polymer.     

Potassium hexacyanoruthenate(II) as an analytical reagent for iron

Fe(III) undergoes a reaction with colourless Ru(CN)(4-)(6) to produce an intensely violet-blue complex that absorbs at 550 nm and obeys Beer's law over the iron concentration range 0.04-2 mug/ml in acidic medium. Some common cations and anions are tolerable at low concentrations. The procedure is applicable for determination of total iron in potable water. Destruction of organic matter is required for contaminated surface waters or soil samples.     

A novel use of cobalt(III) meso-tetraphenylporphyrin as a chiral shift reagent

The NMR spectra of the diastereomeric complexes formed by the coordination of nitrogenous enantiomeric bases with cobalt(III) meso-tetraphenylporphyrin (CoTPP) allow the immediate differentiation of these complexes. The spectra are interpreted on the basis of symmetry (RR and SS) and pseudo-chirality (RS and SR) considerations. The effects are observed in both the proton and carbon spectra and the complexes are stable in both CDCl₃ and DMSO-d₄ solution. This technique, in principle, allows the ready determination of the optical purity of multifunctional ligands.