Development of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for gentamicin in human blood serum

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the quantitative detection of gentamicin in human blood serum was developed. Peculiarities of the adsorption on the microtitre plate surface of the gentamicin-protein conjugate were investigated. Different conditions of the competition stage of the analysis were studied and conditions for gentamicin monitoring in human blood serum in the clinical range were optimized. The matrix effect on the assay results, the specificity of the analytical system and the stability of the reagents were examined. The method permits gentamicin concentrations to be determined in human blood serum, diluted 1/1000, in the linear range from 1 to 30 ng/mL. The assay is characterized by high sensitivity (0.5 ng/mL), good reproducibility (CV < 12%) and good correlation with PFIA (r = 0.943). Received: 17 June 1997 / Revised: 30 September 1997 / Accepted: 2 October 1997