Enzyme immunoassay for human pancreatic amylase

Abstract

An enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for human pancreatic amylase has been developed for the detection of human serum amylase content. Our monoclonal antibody is highly specific for human pancreatic amylase; it cross reacted negligibly with the salivary isoenzyme. We developed a solid phase enzyme immunoassay for determination of pancreatic amylase in human serum with this antibody. The assay required 20 microL of serum and the standard curve was linear to at least 1000 ng/mL of pancreatic amylase. Inter- and intra-assay CVs were less than 10%. The results obtained by the EIA correlated well with those determined by the conventional electrophoretic method. In normal subjects, the mean concentration of serum pancreatic amylase determined by the EIA was found to be 92.3 +/- 26.1 ng/mL (mean +/- SD). The EIA we describe is useful for directly determining pancreatic amylase in human serum. Specifically distinguishing pancreatic from salivary amylase may have considerable clinical value.