Detection of Cocaine Using the Flow Immunosensor

Abstract

A continuous flow immunosensor has been designed for the detection of cocaine in aqueous samples. The continuous flow immunosensor relies on the displacement of fluorophore-labeled antigen from immobilized monoclonal antibody. The sensitivity and accuracy of the flow immunosensor were investigated while varying the parameters of immobilized antibody density, flow rate, amount of antibody-coated Sepharose used in each column, and the saturation of antibody binding sites with fluorophore-labeled antigen. Using a low density of immobilized anti-benzoylecgonine antibody, as little as 5 ng/ml cocaine could be detected. Small amounts of antibody-coated Sepharose could be used repeatedly and the lifetime of the column was proportional to the amount of Sepharose used. Results were obtained in less than a minute and cross-reactivity against various other drugs was negligible.