DETECTING CIGUATOXIN IN SERUM USING STICK ENZYME IMMUNOASSAY

摘要

The present invention relates to a method for detecting the presence of ciguatoxin or related polyether marine toxin in human serum. The steps for detecting the ciguatoxin comprise isolating a serum sample, attaching and fixing the ciguatoxin to a support, and rinsing the resultant toxin-support complex in a buffer to remove unbound toxin and to remove any residual fixer. The presence of ciguatoxin is detected by binding anti-toxin, an antibody against the ciguatoxin conjugated to an enzyme, to the toxin-support complex to form a toxin-antitoxin-enzyme complex. The enzyme of the toxin-anti-toxin-enzyme complex is assayed, and the amount of product formed by the enzyme is then quantitated. A kit for conducting the assay is also described.