Oligoclonal Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay Capable of Determining the Major Food Allergen, Ovomucoid, Irrespective of the Degree of Heat Denaturation

We have recently established an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for total ovomucoid determination, irrespective of the degree of its heat denaturation, by using a monoclonal antibody (mAb) 7D specific to the carbohydrate moiety of ovomucoid (Biosci Biothechnol Biochem, 68, 2490–2497, 2004). Two novel methods have been developed to improve the ELISA. First, its sensitivity was enhanced 100 times by using an oligoclonal cocktail of mAb 7D and two other mAbs with different epitopes as a second antibody. Second, it was shown that usage of denaturing reagents such as SDS and β-mercaptoethanol for extraction was acceptable for ELISA within a range of stability of a first antibody on a solid phase. Properties of the oligoclonal sandwich ELISA system thus constructed were discussed in connection with allergen labeling.