Detecting or quantifying substances using labelling techniques
First Claim
1. A method of detecting or quantifying a substance of biological interest in a body fluid or tissue, in which a labelled binding reagent comprising an antibody, or binding protein, binding specifically to the substance, is linked with a label comprising one or more components which can participate in a luminescent reaction, the labelled binding reagent being immunologically purified and such that it is stable and its properties are not significantly altered by the label, the substance is subsequently contacted with the labelled binding reagent, and a luminescent reaction is subsequently triggered, the emitted light being sensed or measured to provide information concerning the substance of interest.
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Abstract
The invention relates to a method of detecting, analyzing, quantifying or locating a protein, antibody, antigen, hapten, hormone, metabolite, nucleic acid or steroid, in which the substance of interest is linked to a chemi-luminescent or bio-luminescent label. A luminescent reaction is then triggered by the addition of an oxidizing agent or a catalyst and the emitted light is observed in order to provide information about the substance. The invention employs a luminescent reagent which consists of antibodies labelled with a luminescent material such as luminol. The luminescent reagent can be used to quantify antigens in an immunological assay. The luminescent labelled antibodies selectively bind to the antigens and the amount of light emitted in a luminescent reaction gives an indication of the amount of antigens present. A luminescent labelled substance can also be reacted with an antibody or antigen labelled with a fluorescent material in order to carry out a homogeneous assay.
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Citations
20 Claims
- 1. A method of detecting or quantifying a substance of biological interest in a body fluid or tissue, in which a labelled binding reagent comprising an antibody, or binding protein, binding specifically to the substance, is linked with a label comprising one or more components which can participate in a luminescent reaction, the labelled binding reagent being immunologically purified and such that it is stable and its properties are not significantly altered by the label, the substance is subsequently contacted with the labelled binding reagent, and a luminescent reaction is subsequently triggered, the emitted light being sensed or measured to provide information concerning the substance of interest.
- 12. A luminescent reagent comprising antibodies or binding proteins, labelled with one or more components which can participate in a luminescent reaction, and immunologically purified, for use in detecting or quantifying their specific antigens in biological tissues or fluids.
Specification