The radiation refinement of polystyrene surface applied in immunoanalysis

Polystyrene, material frequently used for immunoanalysis (ELISA) microtiter plates, was modified by gamma irradiation in order to enhance the passive absorption binding capacity of immunoglobulin E. The dependence of this capacity on dose and irradiation conditions (atmosphere, presence of water) made it possible to optimize this treatment of the plates. The increase of passive absorption in the case of low-molecular weight synthetic peptides, such as anti-EBNA, was not sufficient and the reason for this needs to be clarified. Radiation grafting made it possible to fix the hydrazide functional group onto the polystyrene. It offers the possibility of binding the proteins, via covalent linkage, with the carbonyl group formed by the oxidation of carbohydrates included in the protein molecule. (author)