TOXIC CONGENER SPECIFIC IMMUNOASSAY FOR PCBS

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Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are ubiquitous environmental pollutants with diverse toxic, teratogenic, reproductive, immunotoxic and tumorigenic effects. Three of the least abundant chlorinated PCB isomers (congeners) are the most toxic and most difficult to quantify. Novel competitors, a novel hapten and a monoclonal antibody (MAb) were prepared in Phase I and utilized to create a sensitive and specific immunoassay for two of the three most toxic PCB congeners. This Phase II project expands on the Phase I goals to produce new chemical competitors and MAbs which will recognize the remaining highly toxic congener and two groups of slightly less toxic but much more abundant congeners. Chemometric methods will be used with the immunoassays to identify the major classes of PCB congeners in environmental and biological samples. MAb immunoaffinity reagents will be prepared for selective recovery and chromatography of toxic congeners from crude samples, and for development of advanced field-portable and automated instrumental immunoassay formats. This project combines the research and development expertise of ECOCHEM, the University of California, Berkeley Hybridoma Facility and the product manufacturing, field evaluation and validation experience of the EnviroGard project team at Millipore Corp. This effort will yield the first commercial assays and reagents for congener-specific PCB identification and quantitation in environmental and biological samples. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATION: Commercial applications include products for regulatory hazard assessment, occupational exposure monitoring, bioremediation, environmental toxicology research, environmental remediation, fish and wildlife protection and food safety monitoring.