[Polarization fluoroimmunoassay of propazine in reversed micelles of aerosol OT in octane].

The interaction between fluorescein-labeled propazine and antibodies against this hapten was studied in the reversed micelles of Aerosol OT in n-octane by a polarization fluoroassay. The effect of the hydration degree of micelles W0 (W0=[H2O]/[Surf]), which determines their size and surfactant concentration, on the binding of the antigen with antibodies was studied. A high hydration degree of the reversed micelles (W0 = 15-30) and low concentration of the surfactant (less than 50 microM) are optimal for binding. The binding efficacy depends upon the structure of the fluorescein-labeled hapten, particularly upon the length of the bridge binding fluorescein with propazine. It was shown that the polarization fluoroimmunoassay of propazine may be carried out in a reversed micellar system in nonpolar organic solvent (octane) with a detection limit of about 100 nM (20 microns/l). This is an order of magnitude higher than that achievable upon analysis in aqueous medium. The proposed polarization fluoroimmunoassay in a reversed micellar system makes it possible to detect haptens that are poorly soluble in water directly in organic extracts, e.g. in chloroform solutions.