Specific and sensitive radioimmunoassay for 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylethyleneglycol (MOPEG).

ABSTRACT

Antibodies that specifically bind the norepinephrine metabolite 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylethyleneglycol (MOPEG) were produced in rabbits after injection of a derivative of MOPEG conjugated with bovine thyroglobulin. A sensitive radioimmunoassay was devised with this antiserum, in which as little as 0.5 nanogram of MOPEG can be accurately measured with a final antibody dilution of 1180. The antibody appears to be specific for MOPEG, since tritiated MOPEG was not displaced from the antibodies by norepinephrine, epinephrine, dopamine, serotonin, or their major metabolites including MOPEG-sulfate (333 nanograms each).