Quantix Systems, L.p.

Leslie Latt

Roger N Piasio

The invention pertains to an immunoassay method for determining the presence of volatile organic compounds in aqueous, soil and air samples by simultaneously collecting and testing a sample volume suspected to contain such organic compounds. As a major problem in the assay of such materials is their rapid evaporation, the present immunoassay is specifically designed to eliminate or minimize the evaporation of the volatile organic analyte during sample handling as well as during the assay process itself. The immunoassay method is based on an assay vessel which has a lower portion, in which the immunoassay actually takes place, and an inert upper portion, which can hold a sufficiently large volume of sample to prevent or minimize evaporation of the organic compound from the smaller volume in the lower portion. The assay is performed by: (1) coating the vessel's lower portion with an antibody specific for the organic analyte; (2) adding the sample to the vessel, wherein the volume of the sample added is between about two to about thirty times the volume of the vessel's lower portion; (3) adding a conjugate between a detectable label and an organic compound for which the antibody is specific; (4) allowing the organic analyte and the added conjugate to compete for binding to the immobilized antibody; and (5) detecting the binding of the detectable label to the immobilized antibody. In another embodiment of the immunoassay, the lower portion of the vessel has inserted therein a solid phase device whose surface is coated with an immobilized antibody specific for the organic analyte.

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Litchfield, ME, United States of America

Leslie Latt