Allergen inactivation with colloidal silica.

We evaluated the allergen inactivating effect of colloidal silica by performing enzyme-liked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) whose wells were coated with 150 ng/mL of Japanese cedar pollen allergen (Cry j 1) or mite allergen (Der f 2). The allergens were almost 100% inactivated by 100 microg/mL of colloidal silica having a particle size 5 nm, and the inactivating effect was increased by aluminum binding to the surface of the colloidal silica. The results show that colloidal silica is a promising material for allergen inactivation. Since colloidal silica forms an insoluble nondispersive solid when dried, it is expected that airborne allergens can be reduced by binding them to colloidal silica.