Poly(Vinyl Alcohol) as a Blocking Agent in Enzyme Immunoassays

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Abstract
We examined the blocking ability of poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) in enzyme immunoassays by coating polystyrene microtiter wells with PVA of different molecular weights (MW) and percent hydrolysis (%Hyd). Blocking ability was measured by the differences in non-specific binding of an anti-rabbit IgG-horseradish peroxidase conjugate to coated and uncoated wells. PVA with a MW of 124 000–186 000 and >99 %Hyd was the most effective in suppressing the binding of the conjugate. This PVA at 0.5% (w/v) was significantly better at reducing non-specific binding than commonly used blocking agents and did not interfere with the specific binding of the conjugate to antigen-coated microtiter wells.