CLIN. CHEM. 27/12, 1969-1973 (1981) Internal Sample Attenuator Counting (IsAc). A New Technique for Separating and Measuring Bound and Free Activity in Radioimmunoassays Jan I. Thorell I describe a new method for the separation and counting of bound and free activity in radioimmunoassays. Particles containing a radiation-absorbing (attenuating) material are added to the assay. They shield the radiation from either the antibody-bound or the free radioligand. This obviates such manipulations conventionally involved in the separation and counting steps of radioimmunoassays as centrifugation and decanting. Bismuth oxide is used as the attenuator. Particles with different properties are described. In one type, bismuth oxide is combined with active charcoal in an agarose matrix and serves as an adsorbant for the free radioligand. In another type bismuth oxide is trapped within a polyacrylamide matrix to which antibodies are coupled. This particle can be used with a first- or a second-antibody bound activity. Application of the technique is illustrated with radioimmunoassays for thyroxin, triiodothyronine, human choriogonadotropin, and Iutropin (luteinizing hormone). AdditIonal Keyphrases: dlolodine tion . homogeneous radioassay raimmobilized antibodies potential for automa- Radioimmunoassay and other radioligand assays are “heterogeneous” in nature, i.e., they require separation of antibody-bound and free ligand before the radioactivity is counted. In most assays this separation involves several steps. Typically, the bound or the free ligand is insolubilized by (e.g.) precipitation or by binding or adsorption to a non-soluble material. Then this material is centrifuged down, and the soluble phase is removed by decanting, suction, etc. These procedures are work intensive, and both the centrifugation and the removal of the supernatant fluid constitute main obstacles for the development of completely automated radioimmunoassay systems. In addition, the separation step is one of the major causes of imprecision of the assays, and it involves some risk of radioactive contamination of the outside of the test tubes. The separation procedures have been simplified in various ways, in particular by coupling the antibody to solid phases such as microparticles (1), discs (2), or to the inside of the test tubes (3). These methods still require removal of the liquid phase to permit counting of the bound activity. In assays with tritiated ligands the extraction of the free ligand into the liquid scintillator (4,5) makes it possible to count the tubes without further separation of the phases. An alternative approach is to selectively shield (attenuate) the radiation of the bound or the free radioligand within the test tube. The low-energy y-radiation of ‘I (X-rays of 23-35 keV), the most commonly used tracer in radioimmunoassays, penetrates most high-Z materials poorly (6). It would therefore be feasible to attain this effect by including an attenuating Department of Nuclear Medicine, University General Hospital, S-214 01 Malm#{246}, Sweden. material as a reagent in the assay. This report describes the development of such an internal sample attenuator counting (IsAc) method and exemplifies its application to some different radioimmunoassays. Materials and Methods Materials Triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxin (T4)1 were from Henning AG, Berlin; human choriogonadotropin (hCG) from Leo AB, Helsingborg, Sweden; human lutropin (hLH) from KABI, Stockholm, Sweden; and porcine insulin (Actrapid MC) from Novo AS, Copenhagen. 1251-labeled T3 and 1251 labeled T4 were purchased from New England Nuclear, Boston, MA 02118. Na’251 for the iodination of hCG, hLH, and insulin with the lactoperoxidase method (7) was obtained from Amersham International Ltd., Amersham, Bucks, U.K. If not otherwise stated, the diluent for all reagents in the assays was 75 mmol/L barbital buffer, pH 8.6, containing 2.5 g of bovine serum albumin (BSA) per liter, from Armour Pharmaceutical, Phoenix, AZ 85077. Antisera. Hormone antisera were raised in rabbits. T3 and T4 were conjugated to BSA with carbodiimide (MerckSchuchardt, Schuchardt, 8011 Hohenbrunn bei Munchen, F.R.G.) according to Gharib et al. (8). Other first-antibodies were produced by immunization with unconjugated hormones as described in detail previously (9). Precipitating secondantibodies were raised by injection of purified rabbit IgG into goats as described elsewhere (10). Attenuators. Attenuation of the low-energy photons emitted by 125J is mainly caused by photoelectric interaction. Attenuation is greatest with elements having the absorption edge of the K or L electrons just below 27.2 keV (the lowest energy of 1251 X-rays). Table 1 shows the attenuation characteristics of some elements. Metallic tungsten powder (Wolfram, puriss.; Kebo, Stockholm, Sweden) was used in the initial studies when the physical feasibility of sample attenuators was being investigated. Thereafter, crystallized bismuth oxide (E. Merck AG, Darmstadt, F.R.G.) was used for the production of the attenuator reagents. Adsorber-attenuator reagent. Particles of agarose containing bismuth oxide and active charcoal were produced to obtain a reagent with both attenuating and adsorbing properties (“charcoal-bismuth particles”). We mixed 40 g of bismuth oxide with 1.5 g of activated charcoal (Aktivkohle zur Analyse, E. Merck AG), added 15 mL of hot agarose (Marine Colloids Div. FMC Corp., Rockland, ME 04841), 20 g/L in the barbital buffer (no albumin), and mixed carefully to wet the material thoroughly. The mixture was left in the refrigerator to gel. The gel was coarsely disintegrated in a mortar, then suspended in 100 mL of barbital buffer containing 2.5 g of bovine serum albumin and 1.5 g of Dextran T 70 (Pharmacia, Uppsala, Sweden) per liter. The suspension was homogenized of Lund at Malm#{246} Presented in part at the 24th annual meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine, Chicago, June 1977. Received May 22, 1981; accepted Aug. 25, 1981. 1 Nonstandard abbreviations: ISAC, internal sample attenuator counting; T3, triiodothyronine; T4, thyroxin; hCG, human choriogonadotropin; hLH, human lutropin (luteinizing hormone); BSA, bovine serum albumin; DEAE, diethylaminoethyl. CLINICAL CHEMISTRY, Vol. 27, No. 12, 1981 1989 Table 1. Attenuation Characteristics of Various Elements for 27.4-keV Photons a Density, g’cm3 Mass-attenuation coefficient, cm2,g1 Concn attenuating 90% of radloacty b Elements (Z) Fe Cu (26) (29) 7.9 8.9 10.2 13.7 2.1 Cd (48) 8.6 47.5 0.45 I Ba (53) (56) 4.9 3.5 10.2 11.3 2.1 W (74) 19.4 34.4 Hg (80) 13.5 40.5 Pb (82) (83) (92) 11.3 9.8 35.5 39.8 50.5 Bi U 19.0 a Based on data from Storm g ‘ cm3 1.6 1.8 0.62 0.53 0.60 0.54 0.42 and Israel (11). 5The concentration of the element needed to cause 90% attenuatIon of the radiation emitted from 1251 evenly distributed within a 200-ILL sphere of the element. Calculated according to Francois (12). for lOs with a Polytron (Kinematica, Lucerne, Switzerland). Stored at 4 #{176}C, it could be used for several months. Antibody-attenuator reagent. Particles of polyacrylamide containing bismuth oxide, to which antibodies were coupled with glutaraldehyde, were produced to obtain a solid-phase antibody with attenuation properties (“antibody-bismuth particles”). The particles were made with the emulsion technique of Ekman and Sj#{246}holm (13), with the following modifications. The water phase consisted of 10 mL of 0.1 mol/L Tris buffer, pH 7.0, containing 1.9 g of acrylamide (BDH Chemicals Ltd., Poole, U.K.) and 0.4 g of N,N’-methylenebisacrylamide (BDH Chemicals Ltd.) in which 1 g of bismuth oxide was suspended. The organic phase was 100 mL of carbon tetrachloride (E. Merck AG) containing 20 g of Arlacel (Serva Feinbiochemica, Heidelberg, F.R.G.) as emulsifier. The activators, 0.1 mL of a 500 g/L solution of ammonium persulfate (E. Merck AG) and 0.1 mL of N,N,N’,N’-tetramethylethylenediamine (BDH Chemicals Ltd.), were added to the water phase immediately before it was mixed with the organic phase. The phases were mixed by vigorous shaking. The micropartides formed were washed in phosphate buffer (0.1 mol/L, coal-bismuth particle suspension was added (most easily pipetted with a fixed-volume manual pipet of the Eppendorf type with 3-4 mm of the tip cut off, to widen its opening). The particles were kept in homogeneous suspension with a magnetic stirrer during pipetting. The contents of the tubes were vortex-mixed for 5 s and the tubes left upright for 15 mm, to permit the charcoal-bismuth particles to settle. Then the radioactivity in the tubes was measured in an automated well-crystal gamma counter (Ultro Gamma II, LKB-Wallac). Radioimmunoassay with antibody-attenuator separation. Two alternatives were tried. One was a hCG assay with the first (hCG) antibody coupled to polyacrylamide-bismuth particles. The other was an hLH assay with second antibody (anti-rabbit IgG) coupled to the polyacrylamide-bismuth particles for a double-antibody solid-phase separation. The components of the first-antibody method were: 0.1 mL of the sample (or standard), 0.2 mL of ‘251-labeled hCG (0.2 ng), and 1 mL of a suspension containing antibody-bismuth particles with hCG antibodies and 400 mg of bismuth oxide powder. The amount of the antibody-bismuth particles was titrated for each individual batch, to give approximately 50% binding when incubated with ‘251-labeled hCG only. Pipetting was performed as mentioned above. The mixture was incubated at 4 #{176}C overnight under slow rotation; the tubes were then left standing on a bench for 15 mm to permit the bismuth-antibody reagent to sediment. Then the radioactivity in the tubes was counted in the well counter. In the second-antibody-attenuator assay, 0.1 mL of the sample (or standard), 0.2 mL of 1251-labeled LH (0.2 ng), and 0.2 mL of hLH antiserum (1:4000) were incubated overnight Activity in Activity precipitate in supernatarit cpm 10000 6000 9000 5000 Act in supernatant 4000 8000 3000 7000 pH 7.4). The microparticles were activated by incubation in 12 mL of a 60 mL/L aqueous solution of glutaraldehyde (E. Merck AG) at 40 #{176}C for 24 h. Then they were washed 10 times with 10-mL portions of distilled water and suspended in 10 mL of phosphate buffer. The IgG of the antiserum was fractionated by chromatography on DEAE-Sephadex (14). Three milliliters of the IgG solution (about 10 g/L, in phosphate buffer) was added to 2 mL of the particle suspension. This mixture was slowly rotated overnight at room temperature. The particles were washed repeatedly with phosphate buffer and finally with buffer containing, per liter, 1 mol of NaCl and 0.1 mol of lysine . HC1 to saturate any remaining uncoupled reactive sites. They were then suspended in 10 mL of the barbital-BSA diluent. Methods All assays were performed in 11 X 55 mm polystyrene tubes with round bottoms. Radioimmunoassay with adsorber-attenuator separation (applied to a T3-assay). We incubated 0.05 mL of serum (or standards diluted in charcoal-treated serum), 0.2 mL of 1251-labeled T3 (200 pg), and 0.2 mL of rabbit antiserum to T3 (diluted 1:2000) overnight at 4 #{176}C. Then 1 mL of char1970 CLINICAL CHEMISTRY, Vol. 27, No. 12, 1981 Act 2000 in precipitate attenuated est w 6000 precipitate 1000 5000 0 0 0 2550 100 INSULIN, 400 200 milli.int. units/L Fig. 1. Radioimmunoassay of insulin with double-antibody precipitation and tungsten-powder attenuator counting The horizontal axis gives the concentration of standards. Filled circles are the measured activity. Open circles denote the attenuated antibody-bound activity (total activity minus measured activity). The triangles give the results from a conventional assay with the sternate decanted and the actMty of the precipitate counted. Each tube of the assay contained 0.1 ml of insulin standards, 0.2 mL of guinea pIg anti-insulin serum (1:150 000) and 0.2 ml of 125l-labeled insulin (0.1 ng). After incubation overnight at 4 #{176}C antibodies were precipitated with 0.05 mL of anti-guinea pig igG (1:10) and 0.05 ml of normal guinea pig serum (1:500). Four hours later, 0.4 g of tungsten powder was added to all tubes. They were centrIfuged at 1700 X gand then another 0.4 g of tungsten powder was added. The radioactivity in the tubes was counted In a well counter Table 2. Attenuation by Various Concentrations of Bismuth Oxide in Particles a Concn of B1203, gIlO mL gel a Amt of B1203 per tube, Table 4. Attenuated by Variation in Test Tube Dimensions Outer dimensions Leakage, b 9 25 30 0.25 19 0.30 12 35 0.35 40 0.40 Charcoal-bismuth 9.9 7.9 11 1.0 6.0 12 1.0 6.3 14 1.0 7.7 1.0 1.12 1.78 6.3 5.7 5.0 particles were made as described in Materials except 1 mL of a suspension containing second-anti- body-bismuth particles and 400 mg of bismuth oxide powder were added. The amount of the antibody-bismuth particles was that found, by titration, to bind all of the first antibody. The tubes were rotated for 1 h, then placed on the bench to permit sedimentation. The radioactivity in them was then counted in the well counter. Results The principal of internal sample attenuator counting was first tested in some model experiments. Figure 1 shows that the antibody-bound radioactivity in a conventional doubleantibody assay can be effectively shielded within the test tube so that Leakage, % A for variation in the amount of bismuth oxkle (91203)added. b “Leakage” denotes the fraction of the radioactivity contained In the sediment of the adsorber-attenuator method that can be detected in a well counter. 100% is the actIvity detected when the same activity is contained In 0.2 ml of dlluent (the volume of the sediment). at 4 #{176}C. Then, Vol of particle suspension, mi/tube of tube, mm only the activity of the supernate is recorded by the detector. When the antibody-bound activity hidden within the shielded sediment was estimated (total activity added to the tube minus measured activity), the typical standard curve for a competitive assay resulted. The efficiency with which bismuth oxide attenuates the radioactivity within test tubes is illustrated in Tables 2-4. The concentration of the attenuator material in the pellet influences the attenuation quite markedly; the volume and dimensions of the sediment have less influence. With regular test tube sizes, 92-95% of the activity enclosed in the sediment B 11 12 14 h the A series the same volqjTle of dwcoal-blsmuih paittcle suspension was added per tube. In the B series, the volume was Increased in proportion to the tube size, to give the same height of pellet In all tubes. a See footnote b of Table 2. Antibody-attenuator methods. Figure 3 illustrates a standard curve from the determination of hCG with the hCG antiserum coupled to the polyacrylamide-bismuth particles. Only 1-5 mg of these particles could be added per tube to obtain proper binding conditions for the assay, because of their high antibody-binding capacity. The additional attenuator material needed was added as crystalline bismuth oxide powder as described in Methods. Figure 4 shows the application of the second-antibody attenuator particles to an LH assay and a comparison with the same assay performed with a conventional double-antibody solid-phase separation of bound and free radioactivity, with decantation of this supernate. Discussion Internal sample attenuator counting is a new technique for CPM 7000 is shielded. Adsorber-attenuator method. The combination of bismuth oxide with charcoal within a matrix of agarose gives a reagent that both adsorbs and attenuates the unbound activity. The high density of the bismuth oxide causes the particles to sediment within 5-10 mm without centrifugation. Because this method measures the antibody-bound activity in the supernate, it shows the common type of standard curve with upward concavity. Its application to T4 assay is shown in Figure 2. The results, both for this assay and a similar method for T3, agreed closely says (Table 5). with those of our routine a 4000 Volume, a mi/tube Amt of B1203, g/tube Leakage, b 0.25 0.50 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 16 The charcoal-bismuth Table 2, footnote b 5000 T3 and T4 as- Table 3. AttenuatIon by Variation in the Amount of Particles Added per Tube 0.75 1.0 1.25 6000 3000 % 11 7.5 6.2 2000 0 5.7 particle suspension as described In Materials. 50 100 150 200 250 nmo(/L THYROXIN b Fig. 2. Standard curve for ISAC radioimmunoassay charcoal-bismuth particles of T4 with CLINICAL CHEMISTRY, Vol. 27, No. 12, 1981 1971 Table 5. Comparison of T3 and T4 Assays with the Adsorber-Attenuator (CCB) Method and with Conventional Charcoal Separation T3 Measured activity activity . e c Pm T4 0.3 nmol/L 10 nmol/L variation 7.9% 6.7% (CV)t) Interassay variation 10.1% 8.3% 11000 3O 25 (CV)C Serum samples (mean ± SEM)d Charcoal separation Sensitivity5 Intra-assay u(ated bound 35 CCB separation Sensitivity Intra-assay CaIc variation 3.39 ± 0.26 nmol/L 127.6 ± 4.5 0.3 nmol/L 8.6% 11 nmol/L (CV)b Interassay variation nmol/L 10000 20 9000 15 8.1% 10.2% 11.4% 3.37 ± 0.29 128.6 ± 5.8 nmol/L 0.97 nmol/L 10 8000 (CV)C Serum samples (mean ± SEM)d Corr. coeff. between CCB and 5 0.95 0 0 0 charcoal methods’ No. samples 66 2 X SEM of the “0-standard.’ 5 10 95 15 20 25 LH pg/L Calculated from duplicate determInation of seven standards and more than 40 samples in each of five consecutive assays. CCalculated from determination of one normal and one high-level sample in five Fig. 4. Radioimmunoassay of LH with second-antibody-attenuator particles consecutIve assays. See Fig. 1 for notations b Same samples measured In both assays. determining antibody-bound or free radioactivity in radioimmunoassays. It markedly simplifies the handling of the assays, and by obviating the need for centrifugation it offers C PM 10000 the potential of full automation. A material radiation, suitable as an internal attenuator in radioimnot only should be an effective absorber of the it also must not otherwise interfere in the assay. Elements with munoassays 9000 a high capacity for absorbing 1251 radiation include cadmium, tungsten, mercury, lead, and bismuth. Classical X-ray-contrast agents such as iodine and barium are poor attenuators for this radiation. However, the experiments showed that most compounds of the high attenuating ele- 8000 ments are not suitable because their presence affects the reaction conditions of the assay: either they adsorb the reactants or they interfere with the antigen-antibody binding. Metallic tungsten bismuth 7000 powder was the first useful attenuator found, but oxide is the best one we have found so far. At neutral pH, it is an insoluble, non-toxic, inexpensive powder with no obvious side effects on the assay, and shows little adsorption of soluble reactants. cluded in polymers 6000 fied. The When the attenuating material of various types, its properties attenuating capacity is mainly is in- are modi- a function of the concentration of the attenuator; the dimensions of the test tubes and the size of the pellet have less influence. A “leakage” of about 5 to 10% of the radiation from the activity included in the pellet is usually found. But, the extent of this leakage is highly reproducible within each type of assay, so this source 5000 of variation contributes little to the overall imprecision of the assay. 4.000 _______________________________________ 0 50 500 5000 hCG, tnt. units/I Fig. 3. Standard curve for ISAC radioimmunoassay first-antibody-polyacrylamide-bismuth particles 1972 CLINICAL CHEMISTRY, Vol. 27, No. 12, 1981 of hCG with The reagent charcoal shielding in which bismuth oxide is combined with active in agarose matrix gives efficient adsorption and of the free radioligand. The results are essentially the same as those obtained by a conventional separation method. It has proven highly reproducible over many months of trials. This applies also to a modified bismuth oxide- charcoal particle with a starch matrix, which has been developed recently (15). In addition to the T3 and T4 assays described here, we have tried this reagent successfully in assays for digoxin, phenytoin, and testosterone. The inclusion of the attenuator in microparticles to which first or second antibodies were conjugated demonstrated the feasibility of solid-phase antibody-attenuator assays. The ISAC assays had the same sensitivity and other characteristics as our regular hCG and LH assays. The particles used for this application sedimented quite rapidly. Further refinement of this technique is under way such as production of very small particles with a narrow size distribution that would sediment slowly enough to permit the antigen-antibody reaction to take place while the particles are sedimenting. ISAC gives radioimmunoassays properties that approach those of homogeneous assays. Hitherto, homogeneous systems have been restricted to assays with light-emitting or lightmodifying indicators such as fluorescent, fluorescence-polarizing, or light-scattering compounds (16-18). A most promising development of the homogeneous methods is the kinetic assays. Such systems might also be designed with ISAC radioimmunoassays based on non-sedimenting antibodyattenuator particles. The radioactive antigen would enter the shielded microparticles when it binds to the antibody, permitting determination of the binding rate. Such a kinetic assay will have potential for improved sensitivity and briefer incubation than the current end-point type of radioimmunoassays. rapid, sensitive and specific sterone by radio-immunoassay. Suppl. 155,94 (1973). method for the measurement of aldoActa Endocrinol. (Copenhagen), 5. Loriaux, D. L., Guy, R., and Lipsett, M. B., A simple, quick, solid-phase method for radioimmunoassay of plasma estradiol in late pregnancy and of plasma cortisol. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 36, 788-790 (1973). 6. Myers, W. G., Radioisotopes of iodine. In Radioactive ceuticals, U.S. Atomic Energy Commission Symposium USAEC, Oak Ridge, TN, 1970, pp 565-681. PharmaSeries 6, 7. Thorell, J. I., and Johansson, B. G., Enzymatic iodination of polypeptides with 1251 to high specific activity. Biochim. Biophys. Acta 251, 363-369 (1971). 8. Gharib, H., Ryan, F. J., Mayberry, W. E., and Hockert, T., Radioimmunoassay for triiodothyronine (T2): I. Affinity and specificity of the antibody for T3. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 33, 509-516 (1971). 9. Thorell, J. I., and Holmstr#{246}m,B., Production of antisera against highly purified human follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone and thyroid-stimulating hormone. J. Endocrinol. 70, 335-344 (1976). 10. Thorell, J. 1., and Larson, S. M., Double antibody production testing. In Radioimmunoassay Louis, MO, 1978, p 276. and Related Techniques, Mosby, and St. 11. Storm, E., and Israel, H. I., Photon cross section from 1 keV to 100 MeV for elements Z = I to Z = 100. Nuclear Data Tables A, 7, Academic Press, New York, NY, 1970, pp 565-681. 12. Francois, J. P., On the calculation of the self-absorption in spherical radioactive sources. Nuci. Inst rum. Methods 117, 153-156 (1974). 13. Ekman, B., and Sj#{246}holm, L., Use of macromolecules particles. Nature 257, 825-826 (1975). in micro- The excellent technical assistance of Mr. Ingvar Larsson, the cal14. Thorell, J. I., and Larson, S. M., Isolation of immunoglobulin from culations of the physical properties of various attenuators by Soren serum by DEAE Sephadex. In ref. 10, p 279. Mattsson, Ph.D., and the secretarial assistance of Mrs. Barbro R#{246}ing 15. Eriksson, H., Mattiasson, B., and Thorell, J. I., Use of internal are very much appreciated. sample attenuator in radioimmunoassay. Assay of triiodothyronine (T3) using starch particles containing entrapped charcoal and bismuth oxide in combination with free antibodies. J. Immunol. Methods, in References 1. Wide, L., and Porath, J., Radioimmunoassay use of Sephadex-coupled antibodies. Biochim. 257-259 of proteins with the Biophys. Acta 130, (1966). 2. Catt, K., Niall, H. D., and Tregear, munoassay of human growth (1966). 3. Catt, K., and Tregear, antibody-coated tubes. G. W., Solid phase radioimhormone. Biochem. J. 100, 31, 33c G. W., Solid phase radio-immunoassay Science 158, 1570-1572 (1967). in press, 1981. 16. Rubenstein, K. E., Schneider, R. S., and UlIman, E. F., “Homogeneous” enzyme immunoassay, a new immunochemical technique. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Common. 47, 846-851 (1972). 17. Dandliker, W. B., Schapiro, H. C., Meduski, J. W., et al., Application of fluorescence polarization to the antigen-antibody reaction. Theory and experimental method. Immunochemistry 1, 165-191 (1964). 18. Cohen, R. J., and Benedek, G. B., Immunoassay by light scattering spectroscopy. Immunochemistry 12, 349-351 (1975). CLINICAL CHEMISTRY, Vol. 27, No. 12, 1981 1973
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