COMPARISON OF CRYPTOSPORIDIUM-SPECIFIC AND GIARDIA-SPECIFIC MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES FOR MONITORING WATER SAMPLES

摘要

Routine detection of Cryptosporitfium oocysts and Giardiu cysts depend on immunofluores- cence assays (IFA) employing fluorescently labeled monoclonal antibodies. Commercially available mAbs used for the detection of Cryptosporidium oocysts are of the IgM or IgG3 subclass, whilst those used for Giardia analysis are of IgM and IgG classes including IgGI. These mAbs suffer from non- specific binding to detrital particles present in environmental samples resulting in high levels of back- ground fluorescence. New mAbs of the IgGI subclass to Giardia and Cryptosporidium selected primarily for water analysis have recently become available. These antibodies exhibited lower levels of non- specific particulate binding compared with commercially available antibodies. The degree of back- ground fluorescence observed following mAb staining of particles that were not oocysts or cysts vaned between the water types analysed.