Abstract
Recent controversy has underlined the fundamental confusion surrounding the concepts of assay ''sensitivity'' and ''precision'' and, in particular, their optimization in radioimmunoassay and other saturation assay procedures. Many formal definitions of sensitivity (e.g. that laid down by the American Chemical Society) express this concept in terms of the slope of the ''dose'' response curve; nevertheless, in common usage, the term is normally regarded as a synonym for the detection limit of the measurement technique. However, a technique which is ''sensitive'' in the formal sense may not display a low limit of detection, and it is readily demonstrable that, in radioimmunoassay systems in particular, there are circumstances in which increase in the slope of the response curve may lead to an increase in the detection limit of the assay. The authors have based their insulin assay protocols on mathematical principles specifically designed to lead to the minimization of the detection limit. The method depends on the use of (uncoated) charcoal for the separation of free and bound labelled insulin in incubation mixtures in which insulin-free human serum is used as diluent. The detection limit of the method is approximately 1 pg/ml of incubation mixture, corresponding to roughly 0.25 {mu}U/ml of serum
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Albano, Janet;
Ekins, R. P.
[1]
- Institute of Nuclear Medicine, Middlesex Hospital Medical School, London (United Kingdom)
Citation Formats
Albano, Janet, and Ekins, R. P.
The Attainment of High Sensitivity and Precision in Radioimmunoassay Techniques as Exemplified in a Simple Assay of Serum Insulin.
IAEA: N. p.,
1970.
Web.
Albano, Janet, & Ekins, R. P.
The Attainment of High Sensitivity and Precision in Radioimmunoassay Techniques as Exemplified in a Simple Assay of Serum Insulin.
IAEA.
Albano, Janet, and Ekins, R. P.
1970.
"The Attainment of High Sensitivity and Precision in Radioimmunoassay Techniques as Exemplified in a Simple Assay of Serum Insulin."
IAEA.
@misc{etde_22205130,
title = {The Attainment of High Sensitivity and Precision in Radioimmunoassay Techniques as Exemplified in a Simple Assay of Serum Insulin}
author = {Albano, Janet, and Ekins, R. P.}
abstractNote = {Recent controversy has underlined the fundamental confusion surrounding the concepts of assay ''sensitivity'' and ''precision'' and, in particular, their optimization in radioimmunoassay and other saturation assay procedures. Many formal definitions of sensitivity (e.g. that laid down by the American Chemical Society) express this concept in terms of the slope of the ''dose'' response curve; nevertheless, in common usage, the term is normally regarded as a synonym for the detection limit of the measurement technique. However, a technique which is ''sensitive'' in the formal sense may not display a low limit of detection, and it is readily demonstrable that, in radioimmunoassay systems in particular, there are circumstances in which increase in the slope of the response curve may lead to an increase in the detection limit of the assay. The authors have based their insulin assay protocols on mathematical principles specifically designed to lead to the minimization of the detection limit. The method depends on the use of (uncoated) charcoal for the separation of free and bound labelled insulin in incubation mixtures in which insulin-free human serum is used as diluent. The detection limit of the method is approximately 1 pg/ml of incubation mixture, corresponding to roughly 0.25 {mu}U/ml of serum at the serum dilutions used. In a formal comparative study, the method has been shown to be more sensitive, precise and accurate than other methods relying on double antibody or chromato-electrophoietic separation. The relevance of such factors as high specific activity labelled hormone to the attainment of high sensitivity is discussed. (author)}
place = {IAEA}
year = {1970}
month = {Feb}
}
title = {The Attainment of High Sensitivity and Precision in Radioimmunoassay Techniques as Exemplified in a Simple Assay of Serum Insulin}
author = {Albano, Janet, and Ekins, R. P.}
abstractNote = {Recent controversy has underlined the fundamental confusion surrounding the concepts of assay ''sensitivity'' and ''precision'' and, in particular, their optimization in radioimmunoassay and other saturation assay procedures. Many formal definitions of sensitivity (e.g. that laid down by the American Chemical Society) express this concept in terms of the slope of the ''dose'' response curve; nevertheless, in common usage, the term is normally regarded as a synonym for the detection limit of the measurement technique. However, a technique which is ''sensitive'' in the formal sense may not display a low limit of detection, and it is readily demonstrable that, in radioimmunoassay systems in particular, there are circumstances in which increase in the slope of the response curve may lead to an increase in the detection limit of the assay. The authors have based their insulin assay protocols on mathematical principles specifically designed to lead to the minimization of the detection limit. The method depends on the use of (uncoated) charcoal for the separation of free and bound labelled insulin in incubation mixtures in which insulin-free human serum is used as diluent. The detection limit of the method is approximately 1 pg/ml of incubation mixture, corresponding to roughly 0.25 {mu}U/ml of serum at the serum dilutions used. In a formal comparative study, the method has been shown to be more sensitive, precise and accurate than other methods relying on double antibody or chromato-electrophoietic separation. The relevance of such factors as high specific activity labelled hormone to the attainment of high sensitivity is discussed. (author)}
place = {IAEA}
year = {1970}
month = {Feb}
}