A note of caution in the use of receptor binding assays to screen marine organisms: the action of halistanol trisulphate on adenosine receptors.

The adenosine A₁ receptor binding assay was used to screen marine extracts. Following the isolation of halistanol trisulphate, non-specific interference causing reduction in affinity and the number of binding sites of the radioligand was identified to be associated with this detergent. Methods for detection of non-specific receptor interactions and optimization of the assays for natural product screening are discussed.