Development of monoclonal ELISAs for azinphos-methyl. 1. Hapten synthesis and antibody production

The development of monoclonal antibody-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays for azinphosmethyl is described. A panel of haptens was synthesized for immunoconjugate preparation, and a series of haptens for heterologous, coating or tracer, conjugates was also prepared. Hapten synthesis was based on a strategy in which only a fragment of the whole target molecule was present (fragmentary haptens). From immunized mice, a set of monoclonal antibodies was obtained and ELISA sensitivities were assayed in different formats. Affinities estimated as I-50 values in the low nanomolar range for azinphos-methyl and phosmet were observed for several monoclonal antibodies in the conjugate-coated format and in the antibody-coated format under nonoptimized assay conditions.