Hapten synthesis and production of monoclonal antibodies to DDT and related compounds

This work describes the production and characterization of monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) to the organochlorine insecticide DDT and their incorporation into several ELISA. configurations. A collection of DDT haptens was synthesized by introducing appropriate spacers at two sites of the analyte molecular structure. From mice immunized with hapten-protein conjugates, MAbs with I-50 values to p,p'-DDT in the 2-11 nM range in homologous conjugate-coated assays were obtained. According to their cross-reactivity pattern with DDT isomers and metabolites, MAbs can be classified as class-specific or DDT-specific antibodies. Both types of MAbs were obtained from mice immunized with the same hapten-protein conjugate simply by applying a different selection criterion in the screening of fusion supernatants. These immunoassays are potentially very valuable analytical tools for the rapid and sensitive determination of DDT and congeners in food and the environment and for monitoring human exposure to these ubiquitous and toxic compounds.