Application of bioactive layers for chemical sensors and analysis systems

Three different methods using bioactive layers for the immunological determination of the toxin staphylococcal enterotoxin B SEE are presented. Two immunosensor systems - the quartz crystal microbalance and the flow ELISA system - have a higher detection limit and a worse accuracy in comparision with the conventional microtiter plate ELISA for SEE. On the other hand they are fully automated and the assay times are much shorter. Therefore immunosensor systems are useful in all fields of applications, where a small number of samples has to be tested and where a high flexibility concerning the analyte and the independence of a central laboratory is important e. g. in environmental, food and drug monitoring or in the doctors office.