The EnviroLogix PCB in Soil Tube Assay applies the principles of enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to the determination of PCB. In such an assay, an enzyme has been chemically linked to a PCB molecule or PCB analog to create a labeled PCB reagent. The labeled PCB reagent (called a conjugate) is mixed with an extract of native sample containing the PCB contaminant. A portion of the mixture is applied to a surface to which an antibody specific for PCB has been affixed. The native PCB and PCB-enzyme conjugate compete for a limited number of antibody sites. After a period of time, the solution is washed away, and what remains is either PCB-antibody complexes or enzyme-PCB-antibody complexes attached to the test surface. The proportion of the two complexes on the test surface is determined by the amount of native PCB in the original sample. The enzyme present on the test surface is used to catalyze a color change reaction in a solution added to the test surface. Because the amount of enzyme present is inversely proportional to the concentration of native PCB contaminant, the amount of color development is inversely proportional to the concentration of PCB contaminant. The color development is quantified through the use of a hand-held photometer.
The EnviroLogix PCB in Soil Tube Kit is designed for semi-quantitative field screening for PCBs in soil. The kit is supplied with calibrators equivalent to 1 part per million (ppm) and 10 ppm PCB (Aroclor 1254) in soil. These calibrators will be used to evaluate threshold levels of 1 and 10 ppm. If the sample is greater than 10 ppm, a threshold level of 50 ppm will also be evaluated using the 10 ppm calibrator by preparing a 1:5 sample extract dilution into methanol. For the extract samples, the threshold levels will be 0.4, 4, and 20 µg/mL.
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