Enzyme-immunoassay for the determination of metallothionein in human urine: application to environmental monitoring.

The objectives of this study were to develop an enzyme immunoassay for metallothioneins in human urine using a polyclonal antiserum and to demonstrate a possible relationship between the level of this biomarker and heavy metal exposure. The antiserum was raised in sheep against horse metallothionein conjugated to carboxylated bovine serum albumin. The antibody was used to construct a two-step competitive ELISA procedure.