Accuracy and Interferences for Enzyme-Linked Immunoassay Tests for Atrazine

Abstract

Atrazine is one of the most commonly used herbicides in the United States, therefore it is a regulatory concern and is extensively monitored in the environment, especially in drinking water. Because of the higher costs of gas chromatography (GC) methods, utility managers and regulators are considering the increased use of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) methods for monitoring atrazine. an ELISA test kit was recently approved by the US Environmental Protection Agency. the research in this article points out potential biases and inaccuracies that may occur with such test kits. ELISA test kits for atrazine are typically precise (repeatable) but often have a tendency for a positive bias from unknown interferences. Negative biases are also observed in some cases, which suggest a lower atrazine concentration than is actually present. the results of this research can help utilities and regulators to better determine the best use of ELISA versus GC methods for analyzing atrazine with respect to monitoring and/or process control.

Department(s)

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering

Sponsor(s)

AWWA Research Foundation

Keywords and Phrases

Accuracy; Enzyme-Linked; Immunoassay Test; Atrazine

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2004 American Water Works Association, All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Jan 2004

Link to Full Text

Share

 
COinS